According to a leading doctor, women can determine if they possess dense breasts—a condition that can increase cancer risk by up to six times and complicates the detection of tumors.
This warning coincides with World Dense Breast Day on September 24th, an event that raises awareness about an issue affecting nearly half of women over 40 in the United States. Despite its name, the condition is not something easily detected by touch.
Dr. Badri Konety, an oncologic surgeon and chief medical officer at Astrin Biosciences, described the challenge to the New York Post: “It’s like trying to spot a snowball in a snowstorm.”
Breasts consist of fatty and fibroglandular tissue. On a mammogram, fat appears dark while fibroglandular tissue shows up white—the more white visible, the denser the breasts.
“Smaller breasts can be extremely dense while larger breasts can be entirely fatty,” explained Konety, emphasizing that breast density is not related to size.
Genetics, age, and race influence the likelihood of having dense breasts. Asian women generally have denser tissue, Black women often have more tissue overall but with less density, and younger women usually exhibit more density until they reach menopause.
Dense tissue significantly increases cancer risk, partly due to a higher number of cells that can mutate and elevated hormone levels that promote tumor growth. It may also cause inflammation and interfere with the immune system, creating a conducive environment for cancer.
Additionally, mammograms are less effective. While they identify up to 98 percent of cancers in fatty breasts, their accuracy can plummet to 30 percent in extremely dense breasts.
“Women with dense breasts have two to five times more interval cancers, and these tend to be discovered at later stages,” Konety cautioned.
The issue is that breast density cannot be felt. Konety clarified: “Density is about internal architecture, not how breasts feel externally.”
This is why mammogram reports are now required to indicate whether one falls into the ‘dense’ or ‘not dense’ categories, with A being mostly fatty and D being extremely dense. Most women discover this only after their initial mammogram, typically recommended at age 40.
For women with dense breasts seeking to address this issue, the healthcare expert advises pursuing more personalized screening options, such as ultrasounds or MRIs—though not all insurance plans cover these procedures.
There are promising advancements in technology, with Astrin Biosciences working on a blood test that examines over 7,000 proteins to detect cancer signals that mammograms might miss.
“For the 42 million American women with dense breasts who’ve been told their mammograms might miss cancer but offered no practical alternatives, this represents a potential game-changer,” stated Konety.
While this test is not yet available, his advice is straightforward: “Know your density, understand your options, and don’t accept ‘come back next year’ if you’re uncomfortable with mammography’s limitations in dense tissue.”