Hyderabad: Secondary cancers are caused due to the overdose of radiation, chemotherapy and shared environment and familial syndromes, according to a research by Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences.The research found that aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy come with a price. It was found that some cancer survivors developed a new and unrelated cancer later due to varied reasons. The study identified four patients and found that the therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia and secondary lymphoma among them. The five-year observational study started in 2010.
Dr V. Belum Reddy, who carried out the study, noted that the assessment of the risk of second leukaemia could become a part of any therapeutic plan for cancer patients. The study found that chemotherapy has a greater risk factor than radiation. A senior oncologist, on condition of anonymity, said, “Secondary cancers are developed at a later stage. So, we ask patients to opt for personalised treatment or immunotherapy. The results have shown that it helps control the existing cancer. In the case of secondary cancers, it is found that the patient suffered from renal of liver cancer and then the second cancer developed in another organ. The second cancer is due to the medication or the exposure to the treatments.”
