When researchers took into account women's ages and the year they were diagnosed, they found a 3.7 times greater risk of cardiovascular disease in women with the highest score (above 400), compared with women with no calcifications. In women who were treated with a particular type of chemotherapy called an anthracycline, the association between high CAC score and cardiovascular risk was even stronger.
The researchers acknowledge that they were unable to take other cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes, into account in this study, although these are factors they are looking at in another study.
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Professor Verkooijen said: "We believe this is the first time anyone has conducted a large-scale study like this. We've shown that we can use routine CT scans to indicate which breast cancer patients are most likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Now we need to do more research to find out what can be done to help minimise this risk, for instance whether patients' cardiovascular health should be monitored or treated."
The researchers are now working to get their technique for predicting cardiovascular disease risk into use in several radiotherapy units in The Netherlands. Patients taking part in this study who are found have an increased risk will be offered further cardiovascular screening and lifestyle advice, and their CAC score will be used in planning their breast cancer treatment.
Professor Nadia Harbeck, from the University of Munich (LMU) in Germany, is chair of the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference and was not involved with the research. She said: "Our key aim is treating breast cancer effectively. However, it's just as important that we don't over-treat patients because cancer therapies can have serious and long-term side-effects.
"This is a clever study because it shows us how the CT scans we are already taking can also be used to discover which women have the highest risk of cardiovascular disease. We look forward to further results from these researchers and hope they might show us how best to help women who are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease."
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