- The FDA’s new breast density rule will now require all mammography reports to include whether a person has dense breasts.
- Breast density is considered a risk factor for breast cancer and can make it difficult to detect signs of cancer.
- Dietary and lifestyle modifications may help reduce breast density, but more importantly, they help lower a person’s risk of developing breast cancer.
Mammograms are the gold standard for breast cancer detection starting around age 40.
Breast density can raise breast cancer risk and make it more difficult to detect cancer. Still, many people are unaware of this important risk factor, even if they regularly receive mammograms.
On September 10, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a
“Breast density not only has to do with intrinsic risk but the ability to detect cancer on a mammogram,” Richard Reitherman, MD, PhD, board certified radiologist and medical director of breast imaging at MemorialCare Breast Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, told Healthline.
“Because the normal stromal tissue is white and cancer is white, the denser the breast, the more difficult it is to detect the cancer. This is termed ”masking,” Reitherman explained.
According to the
Reitherman explained there are two primary components in breast tissue:
- Glandular tissue — the physiologically functioning component of the breast responsible for lactation.
- Stroma — the fat and support tissue composed of mostly collagen.
Breast…
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