Changes in mammographic breast density and concomitant changes in breast cancer risk
- PMID: 10643940
- DOI: 10.1097/00008469-199912000-00006
Changes in mammographic breast density and concomitant changes in breast cancer risk
Abstract
Among participants of the biennial Nijmegen breast cancer screening programme, we examined whether diminution of mammographic breast density lowered breast cancer risk. Post-menopausal breast cancer cases (n = 108), who had to have participated in all the five screening rounds prior to their diagnosis, were matched to 400 controls on year of birth and screening history. Controls had to be free of breast cancer at the time of the case's diagnosis. Changes in breast density were measured over a 10-year period, by a fully computerized method. Women in whom 5-25% or >25% of the breast was composed of fibro-glandular density showed a threefold increased 10-year risk compared to women with <5% density. In women with 5-25% density initially, we observed a trend of decreasing risk with diminishing density: when women with <5% density throughout the whole period formed the reference category, the odds ratio (OR) for those who decreased from 5-25% to <5% density was 1.9 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.6-6.1] in contrast to the OR of 5.7 (95% CI = 2.2-15.2) for those with persisting 5-25% density. In women who increased from 5-25% density to >25% density the OR was 6.9 (95% CI = 2.1-22.9). In women with >25% density initially, diminishing density was not clearly associated with lowering risk, which may be partly explained by the low number of women who decreased to <5% (n = 12). Due to the limited size of the study these results have to be interpreted with caution. Although the results are not conclusive, they could indicate a trend of decreasing risk with diminishing breast density. Should this effect be real, it may have great implications for the primary prevention of breast cancer or for the identification of high-risk groups who would benefit by more frequent screening. Therefore, large-scale, long-term follow-up studies on the effects of changes in breast density are needed.
Similar articles
-
Digital Breast Tomosynthesis with Hologic 3D Mammography Selenia Dimensions System for Use in Breast Cancer Screening: A Single Technology Assessment [Internet].Oslo, Norway: Knowledge Centre for the Health Services at The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH); 2017 Sep 4. Report from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health No. 2017-08. Oslo, Norway: Knowledge Centre for the Health Services at The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH); 2017 Sep 4. Report from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health No. 2017-08. PMID: 29553669 Free Books & Documents. Review.
-
Risk stratification of women with false-positive test results in mammography screening based on mammographic morphology and density: A case control study.Cancer Epidemiol. 2017 Aug;49:53-60. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2017.05.006. Epub 2017 May 27. Cancer Epidemiol. 2017. PMID: 28558329
-
Longitudinal measurement of clinical mammographic breast density to improve estimation of breast cancer risk.J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Mar 7;99(5):386-95. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djk066. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007. PMID: 17341730
-
Breast density as a predictor of mammographic detection: comparison of interval- and screen-detected cancers.J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Jul 5;92(13):1081-7. doi: 10.1093/jnci/92.13.1081. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000. PMID: 10880551
-
Parity and mammographic breast density in relation to breast cancer risk: indication of interaction.Eur J Cancer Prev. 2000 Apr;9(2):105-11. doi: 10.1097/00008469-200004000-00006. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2000. PMID: 10830577
Cited by
-
Temporal changes in mammographic breast density and breast cancer risk among women with benign breast disease.Breast Cancer Res. 2024 Mar 26;26(1):52. doi: 10.1186/s13058-024-01764-2. Breast Cancer Res. 2024. PMID: 38532516 Free PMC article.
-
Development and evaluation of a method to assess breast cancer risk using a longitudinal history of mammographic density: a cohort study.Breast Cancer Res. 2023 Nov 24;25(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s13058-023-01744-y. Breast Cancer Res. 2023. PMID: 38001476 Free PMC article.
-
Repeated measures of mammographic density and texture to evaluate prediction and risk of breast cancer: a systematic review of the methods used in the literature.Cancer Causes Control. 2023 Nov;34(11):939-948. doi: 10.1007/s10552-023-01739-2. Epub 2023 Jun 20. Cancer Causes Control. 2023. PMID: 37340148 Free PMC article. Review.
-
The FEDRA Longitudinal Study: Repeated Volumetric Breast Density Measures and Breast Cancer Risk.Cancers (Basel). 2023 Mar 16;15(6):1810. doi: 10.3390/cancers15061810. Cancers (Basel). 2023. PMID: 36980696 Free PMC article.
-
Changes in mammographic density and risk of breast cancer among a diverse cohort of women undergoing mammography screening.Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2023 Apr;198(3):535-544. doi: 10.1007/s10549-023-06879-2. Epub 2023 Feb 17. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2023. PMID: 36800118
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical