Mammograms also report breast density

• The FDA will now require all mammography test reports to include whether or not a woman has dense breasts.
• Breast density is considered a risk factor for breast cancer and can make signs of cancer harder to detect.
• Diet and lifestyle changes may help reduce breast density but, more importantly, may help lower your risk of developing breast cancer.

Mammograms are the gold standard for breast cancer detection, beginning around age 40.

Breast density is Breast Cancer Risk This makes cancer difficult to detect, yet many people who undergo regular screening are unaware of this important risk factor. Mammography.

On September 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Final Rule A proposed amendment that would require mammogram reports to include breast density. Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) It requires that all mammography facilities must include information about breast density on all patient mammography reports and result letters.

“Breast density is related not only to the inherent risk but also to the ability of mammograms to detect cancer.” Richard Reiterman, MDa board-certified radiologist and medical director of breast imaging at MemorialCare Breast Cancer Center, Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, told Healthline.

“Normal stromal tissue is white and cancer is white, so the denser the breast, the harder it is to detect the cancer. This is called 'masking',” Reiterman explained.

According to National Cancer InstituteHaving dense breasts is very common. About half of women over 40 who have a mammogram are found to have dense breasts. If this describes you, here's what you need to know:

Reiterman explained that breast tissue has two main components.

• Glandular tissue — The physiological functional part of the breast responsible for lactation.
• Stroma — Fat and supporting tissues, composed mainly of collagen.

Breast density refers to the amount of fibroglandular tissue compared to fatty tissue in a woman's breasts. The more fibroglandular tissue there is, the denser the breasts.

“Breast density characterizes the relative amounts of fat, glandular tissue, and stromal tissue on a mammogram,” Reiterman explained.

Breasts are considered dense if a mammogram reveals that more than 50 percent of the breast is made up of white ductal tissue. If the white ductal tissue is less than 50 percent, the breasts are considered non-dense, Reiterman said.

• “My breasts are mostly fat.”
• “There are scattered areas of fibroglandular density.”
• “Breasts are unevenly dense, so small lumps may be difficult to see.”
• “Breasts are very dense, which reduces the sensitivity of mammograms.”

“The level of density is characterized based on the composition of fat and dense breast tissue. Kecia Gaither, MD, MPH“The reality is that the pregnancy is not contagious,” she told Healthline. “It's not contagious, it's just that the pregnancy is not contagious.”

“Heterogeneous high density [means] Most breast tissue is dense, but some is fatty. Very dense [means] “The majority of the tissue is dense, with very little fatty tissue,” Gaither explained.

People with dense breasts have more fibroglandular tissue in their breasts and are at higher risk of breast cancer.

“It is this glandular tissue where breast cancer first develops,” Reiterman says.

“There is a complex interplay between glandular and stromal tissue that controls the development of this early tumor and its ability to spread. The higher the proportion of white stromal tissue compared to dark adipose tissue on a mammogram, the higher the risk of breast cancer,” he explained.

Reiterman noted that the link between breast density and breast cancer risk is being actively pursued. Research Field “It has provided a wealth of complex biochemical insights.”

These insights include structural proteins, enzymes and genetic components of breast density and how they contribute to breast cancer development.

If your mammogram report shows that you have dense breast tissue, further diagnostics may be needed, especially if you have other risk factors for breast cancer, such as a family history.

Additional tests to screen for breast cancer to ameliorate the “masking” effect that breast density has on mammogram results include:

• 3D Mammogram: An x-ray examination that takes images of the breasts from different angles.
• Breast MRI: Magnetic fields and radio waves that create 3D images of the breast.
• Breast ultrasound: — Sound waves that produce images of the breast.
• Contrast mammography — Contrast material to help highlight areas of concern.
• Molecular Breast Imaging — A radioactive tracer and a special camera to image breast tissue.

“MRI is by far the most sensitive imaging technique for detecting breast cancer in women with dense breasts,” Reiterman said. “Ultrasound has also been shown to improve breast cancer detection rates in women with dense breasts.”

Of course, these tests may incur additional costs.

“Out-of-pocket costs are clearly a deterrent to patients undergoing these additional tests,” Reiterman said.

“But if a woman's lifetime risk is 20 percent or higher, most insurers will cover annual breast MRIs in addition to mammograms,” he said.

Currently, there are no clinical guidelines for reducing breast density, and no clear evidence that reducing breast density reduces the risk of cancer.

Still, some studies have shown that certain factors may help reduce breast density, including:

However, breast density is not the only factor that affects breast cancer risk.

“Breast cancer risk appears to be a multifactorial paradigm based on the interaction of multiple factors, including genetics, environment and diet,” Gaither said.

If you have dense breasts, there are steps you can take to lower your risk of developing breast cancer.

“Breast cancer is one of the cancers most influenced by lifestyle. From a prevention perspective, one third Breast cancer can be prevented.” Dr. Ola Karp Gordona board-certified medical geneticist, regional medical director of clinical genetics and genomics at USC Providence, and professor of genetics at St. John's Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California.

Gordon and Gaither recommended:

• Eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• limit Added sugars Processed foods, etc.
• Exercise regularly (aim for 150 minutes per week) Aerobic exercise).
• Avoid alcohol.
• Quit smoking.
• Get regular mammograms.
• Know your family history of breast cancer and assess your risk with genetic testing for the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes.
• Limit hormone replacement therapy after menopause.

“Decisions about the use and duration of hormone replacement therapy should always be individualized based on a woman's breast cancer risk, quality of life, and clinical symptoms, rather than the 'one-size-fits-all' approach that was common several years ago,” Gordon noted.