CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CHANGES IN CARDIAC STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION FOLLOWING PHOTON RADIATION THERAPY FOR BREAST CANCER USING SERIAL CARDIAC MAGNETIC IMAGING

Radiation therapy (RT) that involves the cardiac silhouette is associated with a 9-fold increase in incident heart failure (HF) among women with breast cancer (BC). Pathologically, RT-induced cardiotoxicity leads to myocardial fibrosis, atrophy and a reduction in cardiomyocyte mass; cardiac magnetic