Breast cancer survivors at a greater risk of new tumours than people who have never had the disease

Breast cancer survivors are significantly more likely to develop a new form of cancer than people who have never had the disease, research has found.

The effect was seen most strongly in women diagnosed before the age of 50, who are nearly twice as likely to get the disease elsewhere.

The study also found that the most common place for new tumours to occur in these patients was in the womb, followed by the blood and the ovaries.

Experts say genetics are partly to blame. Around one in ten breast cancer patients carry the inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations, which raise the risk of that cancer as well as other forms of the disease.

The University of Cambridge researchers also pointed to lifestyle factors such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and obesity as reasons why breast cancer patients were so prone to further tumours.

Male breast cancer patients – who account for around one per cent of cases – are also 58 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer than the general male population.

The effect was seen most strongly in women diagnosed before the age of 50, who are nearly twice as likely to get the disease elsewhere (Stock Photo)

About 55,000 women and 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK. Advances in treatment over the past decade mean that almost nine out of ten patients are still alive five years after being diagnosed.

The new study looked at the health records of more than 580,000 women and 3,500 men diagnosed with the disease between 1995 and 2019. Experts said the findings suggest that breast cancer survivors may need regular check-ups to look for other tumours. Dr Simon Vincent, director of research, support and influencing at the charity Breast Cancer Now, said that more research was needed ‘to determine what follow-up would be appropriate for people who have finished treatment’.

Last month The Mail on Sunday revealed the ‘extremely rare’ case of 38-year-old Jess Parsons, who was given the all-clear from a rare form of breast cancer only to be told weeks later that she had developed a new form in the other breast and needed further treatment.