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Dense Breast Tissue Seen as Risk Factor for Cancer

January 18, 2007

Density is a true risk factor, along with other strong predictors such as age and the BRCA 1 and 2 mutations. Yet breast density is rarely considered with other risk factors in discussions with doctors and patients.

Cancer turns up five times more often in women with extremely dense breast tissue than in those with the most fatty tissue, a study shows, signaling the importance of a risk factor rarely discussed with patients. The Canadian study confirms that not only are tumors in women with dense breast tissue hidden on mammography but that cancers are also more frequent.

Dr. Norman Boyd, the study leader, said, "it's been ignored to an absolutely unbelievable degree."

You can read the study here.

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What is Dense Breast Tissue?

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Are You Dense? Fact #1:
Breast density is one of the strongest predictors of the failure of mammography screening to detect cancer.
Are You Dense? Fact #2:
Two-thirds of pre-menopausal women and 40% of post-menopausal women have dense breast tissue.
Are You Dense? Fact #3:
Adding more sensitive tests to mammography significantly increase detection of invasive cancers that are small and node negative.
Are You Dense? Fact #4:
American College of Radiology describes women with "Dense Breast Tissue" as having a higher than average risk of Breast Cancer.
Are You Dense? Fact #5:
While a mammogram detects 98% of cancers in women with fatty breasts, it finds only 48% in women with dense breasts.
Are You Dense? Fact #6:
A woman at average risk and a woman at high risk have an EQUAL chance of having their cancer masked by mammogram.
Are You Dense? Fact #7:
Women with dense breasts who had breast cancer have a four times higher risk of recurrence than women with less-dense breasts.
Are You Dense? Fact #8:
A substantial proportion of Breast Cancer can be attributed to high breast density alone.
Are You Dense? Fact #9:
Cancer turns up five times more often in women with extremely dense breasts than those with the most fatty tissue.
Are You Dense? Fact #10
There are too many women who are unaware of their breast density, believe their “Happy Gram” when it reports no significant findings and are at risk of receiving a later stage cancer diagnosis.