Key clinical point: Women who developed breast cancer (BC) showed a significantly slower rate of decrease in mammographic breast density over time compared with control individuals who did not develop BC.
Major finding: Although breast density decreased over time in all women, the rate of change in breast density was significantly slower in the breast that later developed cancer compared with the cancer-free breast in control individuals (estimate 0.027; P = .04).
Study details: This prospective, nested case-control cohort study followed women with no history of any cancer for 10 years based on screening mammogram or risk factors and subsequently analyzed 289 women who developed BC and 658 matched control individuals.
Disclosures: This study was supported by grants from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, New York (BCRF) and partly by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI). Two authors declared receiving grants from BCRF and NCI and holding a pending patent for assessment of digital mammograms.
Source: Jiang S et al. Longitudinal analysis of change in mammographic density in each breast and its association with breast cancer risk. JAMA Oncol. 2023 (Apr 27). Doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.0434