Percent Mammographic Density and Dense Area as Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

Abstract

!Purpose: Mammographic characteristics are known to be correlated to breast cancer risk. Percent mammographic density (PMD), as assessed by computer-assisted methods, is an established risk factor for breast cancer. Along with this assessment the absolute dense area (DA) of the breast is reported as well. Aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of DA concerning breast cancer risk in addition to other risk factors and in addition to PMD. Methods: We conducted a case control study with hospital-based patients with a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer and healthy women as controls. A total of 561 patients and 376 controls with available mammographic density were included into this study. We describe the differences concerning the common risk factors BMI, parital status, use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and menopause between cases and controls and estimate the odds ratios for PMD and DA, adjusted for the mentioned risk factors. Furthermore we compare the prediction models with each other to find out whether the addition of DA improves the model. Results: Mammographic density and DA were highly correlated with each other. Both variables were as well correlated to the commonly known risk factors with an expected direction and strength, however PMD (ρ = −0.56) was stronger correlated to BMI than DA (ρ = −0.11). The group of women within the highest quartil of PMD had an OR of 2.12 (95 % CI: 1.25-3.62). This could not be seen for the fourth quartile concerning DA. However the assessment of breast cancer risk could be improved by including DA in a prediction model in addition to common risk factors and PMD.

Mammographic density and risk of breast cancer in Korean women

“…Our clearer finding of a mammographic risk association with early-onset breast cancer than that typically studied could also be relevant to western women, for whom there is relatively little information. The positive associations between mammographic density measures and the risk of breast cancer found in the present study are consistent with findings from previous studies of women from western populations who were typically older than those in our study (Maskarinec and Meng, 2000;Ursin et al, 2003;Maskarinec et al, 2005;Kerlikowske et al, 2010;Heusinger et al, 2011;Rauh et al, 2012;Razzaghi et al, 2012). When we categorized the study population into percent density groups to allow comparison with previous studies, we found that Korean women in the highest mammographic percent density group (>50%) had a 2.98-fold increased risk of breast cancer compared with those in the lowest mammographic percent density group (< 5%) after adjusting for covariates.…”

Polymorphisms in the RANK/RANKL genes and their effect on bone specific prognosis in breast cancer patients

“…Cases and controls were collected from 2002 to 2008 [26][27][28][29]. The BBCC is part of the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) and has taken part in the validation of confirmed breast cancer susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

Current strategies for the prevention of breast cancer

“…A four- to six-fold greater risk of breast cancer has been reported in women having more than 75% of the total area on mammogram occupied by dense area 13. In addition to PDA, absolute dense area of the breast obtained on assessment of PDA has been reported to be an independent risk factor for breast cancer, and its inclusion in risk-assessment tools has been proposed 14. Female survivors of Hodgkin’s disease that were treated with chest irradiation are known to be at an increased risk of breast cancer, with the cumulative absolute risks of breast cancer varying with type of therapy, age at end of follow-up, time since diagnosis, and radiation dose 15.…”