This study includes participants whose plan of care may or may not include radiation therapy.
* Participants whose plan of care includes radiation therapy will have about three teaspoons of research blood collected at the following time points:
* Before the start of radiation therapy
* At the end of radiation therapy
* About six months after completing radiation therapy
* Participants whose plan of care does NOT include radiation therapy will have about three teaspoons of research blood collected at the following timepoints:
* After surgery (up to three months after surgery)
* About 8 months after the first research blood collection
Age
18–50
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy volunteers
Not accepted
You may be eligible if
Women aged 18 to 50 undergoing mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer of any subtype at DUMC and associated satellite centers
Histologic documentation of breast cancer based on pathology
Systemic therapies including hormone therapy, targeted therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy as given for breast cancer treatment at the discretion of the treating medical oncologist are allowed and use of such therapies will be documented and included as a covariate
Willing and able to provide written informed consent
You may not be if
Prior history of therapeutic high-dose irradiation of the thorax (e.g. for treatment of lung cancer, head/neck cancer, Hodgkin disease, etc., not just radiological imaging alone)
History of thymectomy or treatment with immunosuppressive drugs within the past six months
Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune conditions
Individuals with Down's syndrome
Male patients
Clareo Health | Radiation Therapy and Thymus Function in Young Women With Breast Cancer
