Home Resources Research Dense Breast Tissue Research: Women With Dense Breasts are at Higher Risk for Breast Cancer

Research: Women With Dense Breasts are at Higher Risk for Breast Cancer

July 28, 2011

Rulla M. Tamimi, Sc.D., at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues, compared breast density in 1,042 postmenopausal women with breast cancer and 1,794 matched control subjects (women who were similar in terms of age, postmenopausal hormone use, and other factors, but did not have breast cancer).

The authors conclude that higher mammographic density is associated with more aggressive tumor characteristics and also with DCIS. "Our results suggest that breast density influences the risk of breast cancer subtypes by potentially different mechanisms," they write. "Given that the magnitude of the association with breast density is strong across all breast cancer subtypes and particularly for ER-negative disease, breast density should be included in risk prediction models across tumor subtypes,"

For more on the research: Dense Breasts: A Risk Factor

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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.