New Study Suggests Women With Dense Breast Tissue May Benefit From Regular MRIs

While there has been some controversy over when women should start getting mammograms, all experts agree that screening is an important first step in detecting breast cancers and treating them early. But for some women, that’s not enough. For the approximately 40% of women with dense breast tissue, and especially the 10% with extremely dense tissue, cancer cells are harder to detect, since the denser tissue can mask small growths. In addition, dense breast tissue itself is also a risk factor for developing cancer. There’s been debate among experts over whether these women should have additional screening, on top of mammograms. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine provides the strongest data yet to support adding MRI screening to mammograms for women with extremely dense breast tissue. Previous studies have compared rates of breast cancer in women getting mammograms alone to rates in those getting mammograms and MRI, but it hasn’t been clear that the “cancers” identified in these data sets were actually cancer. That’s because some breast cancers are what experts consider a pre-cancerous stage, known as ductal carcinoma in situ, meaning they may not grow or progress into disease. That’s led some doctors to worry over potential over-diagnosis of breast cancer, which can lead to over-treatment of lesions that may never develop into tumors. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which attempts to find answers to ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Breast Cancer embargoed study Research Source Type: news