More on Breast Density Notification Laws

There’s a nice discussion of the practical considerations around breast density notification laws in this week’s NEJM. The editorial and accompanying podcast summarize what we do and don’t know about breast density, and give practical suggestions for incorporating breast density into the discussion around mammography screening for individual patients.  Online access to both the editorial and podcast discussion is free, and I encourage you to read and listen. Bottom line   Most women under age 60 will have dense breasts on mammography. Breast density is subjective, and we do not as yet have a computerized way of standardizing breast density readings. Breast density can also vary in a given women across the menstrual cycle and with age. Breast density may increase breast cancer risk from 1.2-2 times, but it is not clear if that increased risk is additive to other factors that already increase breast cancer risk – family history, lifestyle, reproductive history – or just a manifestation of that risk.  No current breast cancer risk model incorporates breast density. At this point in time, mammography is the only breast cancer screening that has been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality, and there is little evidence to support routine supplemental screening sonograms in women with dense breasts. In women at average risk for breast cancer with dense breasts, screening breast sonograms will detect less than 1 additional cancer per 1,000 women s...
Source: The Blog That Ate Manhattan - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: Breast Cancer Mammography Source Type: blogs