Changes in Breast Density With Aging Associated With Breast Cancer Risk

Research reveals that automated breast density measurement is predictive of breast cancer risk in younger women, and that risk may be related to the rate at which breast density changes in some as they age. The research is being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Breast density, as determined by mammography, is already known to be a strong and independent risk factor for breast cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) considers women with extremely dense breasts to be at moderately increased risk of cancer and recommends they talk with their doctors about adding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screening to their yearly mammograms.

"Women under age 50 are most at risk from density-associated breast cancer, and breast cancer in younger women is frequently of a more aggressive type, with larger tumors and a higher risk of recurrence," said the study's senior author, Nicholas Perry, M.B.B.S., FRCS, FRCR, director at the London Breast Institute in London, U.K.

Source-Eurekalert