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Updated: May 9, 2026

Voluntary Breath-hold Technique for Reducing Heart Dose in Left Breast Radiotherapy
Published on: July 3, 2014
Breast cancer and pacemakers
Hector Alfredo Mazzetti1, Maria Cristina Tentori
1Cardiology department, Hospital Fernandez, Santiago del Estero 1620, Lanus - Buenos Aires CP 1824, Argentina.
Aims:
The combination of breast cancer and the need for a pacemaker is infrequent, and device implantation under these circumstances may be a technical challenge with several treatment options, most of them complex.
Methods And Results:
Eight patients, all women, with an average age of 69.62 ± 11.4 years. We present a technique for patients with bilateral breast cancer who need a pacemaker or those who had already implanted a device and developed a homolateral breast cancer. All the pacemakers were implanted in a neck pocket, as a first implantation or if they were moved from a prepectoral pocket to the neck. Seven patients had a good outcome and one had an infection.
Conclusion:
We suggest a simple alternative to lead extraction or epicardial approach in patients with coexisting breast cancer and the need for a rhythm control device consisting in placing the device in a neck pocket and preserving the existing leads by tunnelling them either above or below the clavicle.
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