Dr. Rhodes and colleagues also found that respondents from Connecticut were more likely than residents of other states to be aware of the potential masking effect
of breast density on mammographic detection of cancer and were more likely to have discussed breast density with a health care provider.
Driven by patient advocacy groups such as Are You Dense Inc. and Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc., 32 states have enacted legislation to ensure women are
informed of their breast density status and the associated diagnostic challenges.
Another strength was the measurement
of breast density by MRI, which provides information on breast composition not impaired by high parenchymal breast density typical of young women (81).
Disparities in the level of awareness and
knowledge of breast density exist among U.S. women, according to the results of a Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
«Blood test can effectively rule out breast cancer,
regardless of breast density: With over a 99 percent negative predictive value, a liquid biopsy test can help clinicians manage difficult - to - diagnose dense breast patients.»
Overall, more than half of women who responded (58 percent) had
heard of breast density, 49 percent were aware that breast density affects breast cancer detection and 53 percent knew that breast density is associated with cancer risk.
Furthermore, an experiment involving the same woman imaged over 8 years on different x-ray systems revealed varying
results of breast density.
movement by Nancy M Cappello, Ph.D., seeks to ensure that women be informed
of their breast density so that they understand the limitations of mammography screening and thereby decide to be imaged using another complementary modality.
Professor Jones said: «This
analysis of breast density provides a new framework for additional experimental exploration in breast cancer research.
«I was surprised by the magnitude of the effect — the
doubling of breast density associated with combination - hormone therapy,» said McTiernan, lead physician of the WHI Clinical Coordinating Center, which is based at Fred Hutchinson.
Because cancer also appears as white on a mammogram, a high
degree of breast density can make it difficult to spot tumors and other abnormalities.
However, before the new research, very few studies had looked at the
impact of breast density on the sensitivity of mammogram results, and some had suggested the density varies too little over the course of a woman's menstrual cycle to have any impact, said study researcher Dr. Diana Miglioretti, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute in Seattle.
The radiologist who reads the mammogram chooses the category that best describes the
level of breast density seen on the mammogram film.
The median and interquartile range (IQR)
of breast density measures were 24.3 % (9.6 % — 40.6 %) for % DBV, 92.0 cm3 (48.7 — 141.0 cm3) for ADBV, and 301.9 cm3 (162.0 — 486.7 cm3) for ANDBV.
«The results of our study support the need for continued efforts to improve
awareness of breast density and its implications on screening among women who are eligible for screening mammograms,» says the study's lead author, Deborah Rhodes, M.D., a consultant in preventive medicine at Mayo Clinic.»