Mammographic Densities and Breast Cancer Risk

Variations between individuals in the radiographic appearance, or mammographic pattern, of the female breast arise because of differences in the relative amounts and X-ray attenuation characteristics of fat and connective and epithelial tissue. Studies using quantitative methods of assessment have consistently shown these variations to be strongly related to risk of breast cancer. Individuals with extensive areas of radiologically dense breast tissue on the mammogram have been found to have a risk of breast cancer that is four to six times higher than women with little or no density. In this paper, we propose a model for the relationship of mammographic densities to risk of breast cancer. We propose that the risk of breast cancer associated with mammographically dense breast tissue is due to the combined effects of two processes: cell proliferation (mitogenesis), induced by growth factors and sex hormones and influenced by reproductive risk factors for breast cancer; and damage to the DNA of dividing cells (mutagenesis) by mutagens generated by lipid peroxidation. We review the evidence that each of these processes is associated with mammographic densities and propose further work that we believe should be done to clarify these relationships.