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Dense Breasts Are Common—Here Is What to Know

Author/s: 
Hannah S. Milch, Joann G. Elmore

What Is Breast Density and How Common Are Dense Breasts?
Breast density refers to the amount of dense tissue (like glands and fibrous tissue) you have compared to fatty tissue in your breasts. Dense breasts are very common. About half of all women have them.

Why Does Breast Density Matter?
Dense breast tissue makes it harder for doctors to see cancer on a mammogram because both appear white on the image. Even with dense breasts, mammograms are still the best screening tool for most women and can find most breast cancers. Having dense breasts also slightly increases your chance of getting breast cancer, but not enough on its own to put you in the high-risk category.

How Do I Know If I Am at High Risk for Breast Cancer?
Doctors look at your overall risk—not just breast density—to decide if you are at high risk. Some other important risk factors, beyond breast density, include:

Age: Most breast cancers happen in women older than 50 years.

Family history: Having a close relative (like a parent, sibling, or child) with breast or ovarian cancer—especially if they were diagnosed before 50 years of age—raises your risk.

Certain inherited genes: Some gene variations, like in BRCA1 or BRCA2, raise risk considerably.

Past breast biopsies: Some biopsy results, such as atypical cells, can increase your risk.

Hormone use: Using hormone replacement therapy may slightly raise your risk.

Doctors use special tools (called risk calculators) to estimate how likely you are to develop a disease. They give you a score, like a percentage. If your chance of getting breast cancer in your lifetime is 20% or more, you might be called high risk. Every woman should get a breast cancer risk assessment. It helps you and your doctor decide if you may benefit from extra screening tests.

What Should I Do If I Have Dense Breasts?
Talk to your doctor about all of your personal risk factors—not just breast density. Most women with dense breasts do not need extra tests beyond regular mammograms. If you are at high risk, your doctor may recommend extra screening tests, such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or ultrasonography (this test can be used if MRI is not available, but it is not as accurate). Extra screening tests may lead to more false alarms (finding something that is not cancer), finding cancers that will not cause any problems (this is called overdiagnosis), more tests or treatments that you do not really need, higher costs that might not be paid by insurance, and more worry or stress.

Dense breasts are common and not usually something to worry about. Mammograms are the best way to screen for breast cancer. Extra tests are only needed if you have other risk factors that put you at higher risk. It is important to think about the pros and cons of extra screening based on your personal risk and values. Your doctor can help guide this decision.

Keywords 
breast neoplasms mammography ultrasonography Hormone Replacement Therapy Dense Breasts

Screening for Breast Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Author/s: 
US Preventive Services Task Force

Importance: Among all US women, breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death. In 2023, an estimated 43 170 women died of breast cancer. Non-Hispanic White women have the highest incidence of breast cancer and non-Hispanic Black women have the highest mortality rate.

Objective: The USPSTF commissioned a systematic review to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of different mammography-based breast cancer screening strategies by age to start and stop screening, screening interval, modality, use of supplemental imaging, or personalization of screening for breast cancer on the incidence of and progression to advanced breast cancer, breast cancer morbidity, and breast cancer-specific or all-cause mortality, and collaborative modeling studies to complement the evidence from the review.

Population: Cisgender women and all other persons assigned female at birth aged 40 years or older at average risk of breast cancer.

Evidence assessment: The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that biennial screening mammography in women aged 40 to 74 years has a moderate net benefit. The USPSTF concludes that the evidence is insufficient to determine the balance of benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older and the balance of benefits and harms of supplemental screening for breast cancer with breast ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), regardless of breast density.

Recommendation: The USPSTF recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 40 to 74 years. (B recommendation) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older. (I statement) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of supplemental screening for breast cancer using breast ultrasonography or MRI in women identified to have dense breasts on an otherwise negative screening mammogram. (I statement).

Keywords 
breast cancer cancer screening breast neoplasms Early Detection of Cancer mammography

Can family physicians accurately screen for AAA with point-of-care ultrasound?

Author/s: 
Cade, N., Granath, B., Nether, J. O., Safranek, S.

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER:
LIKELY YES. POINT-OF-CARE ULTRASOUND (POCUS) SCREENING FOR ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM (AAA) BY NONRADIOLOGIST PHYSICIANS IS 98% SENSITIVE AND 99% SPECIFIC, COMPARED WITH IMAGING PERFORMED BY RADIOLOGISTS (STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION [SOR]: B, META-ANALYSIS OF DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY STUDIES MOSTLY INVOLVING EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIANS). EUROPEAN FAMILY PHYSICIANS DEMONSTRATED 100% CONCORDANCE WITH RADIOLOGIST READINGS (SOR: C, VERY SMALL SUBSEQUENT DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY STUDIES).

Rethinking mechanisms, diagnosis and management of endometriosis

Author/s: 
Chapton, Charles, Marcellin, Louis, Borghese, Bruno, Santulli, Pietro

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease defined as the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, which causes pelvic pain and infertility. This disease should be viewed as a public health problem with a major effect on the quality of life of women as well as being a substantial economic burden. In light of the considerable progress with diagnostic imaging (for example, transvaginal ultrasound and MRI), exploratory laparoscopy should no longer be used to diagnose endometriotic lesions. Instead, diagnosis of endometriosis should be based on a structured process involving the combination of patient interviews, clinical examination and imaging. Notably, a diagnosis of endometriosis often leads to immediate surgery. Therefore, rethinking the diagnosis and management of endometriosis is warranted. Instead of assessing endometriosis on the day of the diagnosis, gynaecologists should consider the patient's 'endometriosis life'. Medical treatment is the first-line therapeutic option for patients with pelvic pain and no desire for immediate pregnancy. In women with infertility, careful consideration should be made regarding whether to provide assisted reproductive technologies prior to performing endometriosis surgery. Modern endometriosis management should be individualized with a patient-centred, multi-modal and interdisciplinary integrated approach.

Keywords 
Pregnancy women Endometriosis Infertility Uterus Pain

Final Update Summary: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Screening

Author/s: 
U. S. Preventive Services Task Force

IMPORTANCE:

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is typically defined as aortic enlargement with a diameter of 3.0 cm or larger. The prevalence of AAA has declined over the past 2 decades among screened men 65 years or older in various European countries. The current prevalence of AAA in the United States is unclear because of the low uptake of screening. Most AAAs are asymptomatic until they rupture. Although the risk for rupture varies greatly by aneurysm size, the associated risk for death with rupture is as high as 81%.

OBJECTIVE:

To update its 2014 recommendation, the USPSTF commissioned a review of the evidence on the effectiveness of 1-time and repeated screening for AAA, the associated harms of screening, and the benefits and harms of available treatments for small AAAs (3.0-5.4 cm in diameter) identified through screening.

POPULATION:

This recommendation applies to asymptomatic adults 50 years or older. However, the randomized trial evidence focuses almost entirely on men aged 65 to 75 years.

EVIDENCE ASSESSMENT:

Based on a review of the evidence, the USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that screening for AAA in men aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked is of moderate net benefit. The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that screening for AAA in men aged 65 to 75 years who have never smoked is of small net benefit. The USPSTF concludes that the evidence is insufficient to determine the net benefit of screening for AAA in women aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked or have a family history of AAA. The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that the harms of screening for AAA in women aged 65 to 75 years who have never smoked and have no family history of AAA outweigh the benefits.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The USPSTF recommends 1-time screening for AAA with ultrasonography in men aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked. (B recommendation) The USPSTF recommends that clinicians selectively offer screening for AAA with ultrasonography in men aged 65 to 75 years who have never smoked rather than routinely screening all men in this group. (C recommendation) The USPSTF recommends against routine screening for AAA with ultrasonography in women who have never smoked and have no family history of AAA. (D recommendation) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for AAA with ultrasonography in women aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked or have a family history of AAA. (I statement).

Keywords 
abdominal aortic aneurysm recommendation AAA ultrasonography risk smoke

Draft Recommendation Statement, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Screening

Draft: Recommendation Summary

Population
Recommendation
Grade
(What's This?)

Men ages 65 to 74 years who have ever smoked

The USPSTF recommends one-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with ultrasonography in men ages 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked.

B

Men ages 65 to 75 years who have never smoked

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians selectively offer screening for AAA with ultrasonography in men ages 65 to 75 years who have never smoked rather than routinely screening all men in this group. Evidence indicates that the net benefit of screening all men in this group is small. In determining whether this service is appropriate in individual cases, patients and clinicians should consider the balance of benefits and harms on the basis of evidence relevant to the patient’s medical history, family history, other risk factors, and personal values.

C

Women who have never smoked with no family history

The USPSTF recommends against routine screening for AAA with ultrasonography in women who have never smoked and have no family history.

D

Women ages 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked or have a family history

The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for AAA with ultrasonography in women ages 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked or have a family history.

I

Keywords 
tobacco smoke ultrasonography
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