A Woman’s Brest Density Classification can Change

Women who have dense breasts have less fatty tissue and more non-fatty tissue when compared to women’s breasts that are not dense. One way to measure the thickness of a breast is through a mammogram. However, a new study has found that these tests aren’t always an accurate way of determining a woman’s breast density, because it may change from screening to screening.

Mammogram Findings

The BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System) that reports the findings of mammograms, also includes data on breast density. BI-RADS classifies a woman’s breasts into one of four groups:

1.)Mostly fatty
2.)Scattered areas of density
3.)Consistently dense
4.)Extremely dense

However, there is still no one particular method for measuring breast density that’s been agreed upon by the medical community. Breast density isn’t based on how a woman’s breasts feel during a self-examination or by a doctor’s physical examination. Dense breasts have more glandular tissue, which makes and drains milk and more stroma or supportive tissue that surrounds the gland. Breast density is inheritable, so if a woman’s mother has dense breasts, chances are good she will too.

Researchers have found the following facts about dense breasts:

•Women with dense breasts are six times more likely to develop breast cancer
•Dense breasts can make it more difficult to detect breast cancer; breast cancer (which appears as white breast tissue) is easier to see on a mammogram when it’s surrounded by fatty tissue which appears darker.

Approximately 43 percent of women between the ages of 40 to 74 years of age in the U.S. are classified as having dense breasts. As of September 2015, twenty-four states in America have passed legislation requiring women to be notified of their breast density with the findings of their mammograms.

A study has discovered that breast density classification can be unreliable, because women can experience a change in breast density from mammogram to mammogram. The results of the study were published online on January 12, 2016 by the Annuals of Internal Medicine.

To perform the study, researchers reviewed 24 case studies from seven different countries concerning breast density. Unfortunately, only six of these studies were found to be good quality. Many of the studies were small and the results were inconclusive.

The research team focused on the good quality studies and found that even these showed that between 13 and 22% of women were classified as having dense breasts or not dense breasts from mammogram to mammogram. One particular study found different radiologists assigned the same BI-RADS density category to a particular woman only 82% of the time. The results of the study mean that 18% of the time a woman’s breasts had a different density classification.

Conclusion:

The best solution for classifying breast density is to do vigorous research to better standardize breast density classification. If a woman’s mammogram consistently says she doesn’t have dense breasts or does have dense breasts, it is most likely accurate. However, if you are a woman whose breast density classification varies from mammogram to mammogram, you may want to speak to your doctor or radiologist who read the test to get a better understanding of your actual density could be.

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