Breast Cancer Risk Not Necessarily Higher In Women With Dense Tissue

Previous studies have shown that women with dense breasts may be at an increased risk of breast cancer. Thus, health officials may advise that they have earlier screenings. However, the latest findings show that all women with dense breasts may not be at an enhanced risk of cancer.

Lead study author Dr. Karla Kerlikowske, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California, and colleagues, provided data on the exact nature of cancer risk for women with dense breasts.

For the study, she examined data on 365,426 women between the ages of 40 and 74 years with over 831,000 mammograms.

Researchers also collected information on the number of breast cancer cases among women within 12 months from the date of their mammogram.

Then, researchers applied varying models to predict which women would be at a higher risk of breast cancer, including those with dense breasts over a 5-year-period. Researchers also added in additional risk factors that included race, breast biopsy, age and overall breast density.

Findings revealed that breast density was not always a good indicator of cancer risk. Furthermore, radiologists found that roughly half of those involved in the study with dense breast tissue were found to have a lower risk of developing cancer.

An accompany editorial to the Annals of Internal Medicine paper noted that federal legislation for the health issue should focus more on identifying if women have high risk interval breast cancer rather than on breast density, alone.