MR assessment of breast water detects early cancer risk
A mother-daughter study that used MRI to measure breast density in younger women shows that the percentage of breast water could be linked to the risk of breast cancer in middle age and older, according to a study published online April 29 in Lancet Oncology.
Add another key piece to the puzzle of understanding more about breast density, an inheritable characteristic known to be a cancer risk factor that could aid in developing prevention methods, according to principal investigator Norman Boyd, MD, a scientist at the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.
Boyd initially verified breast density (mammographic density, MD) as a strong risk factor for breast cancer in middle aged and older women in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007. Until now, little was known about the development of breast density in early life, or how it relates to a young woman's height, weight and age and the breast density of their mothers.
The findings of the current study indicate that risk assessment using less harmful techniques such as MRI instead of x-ray should start much earlier in life.
"It is known that the breast is most susceptible to the effects of carcinogens at early ages. Our findings suggest that differences in breast tissue composition in early life may be a potential mechanism for this increased susceptibility," said Boyd. "By identifying the environmental and genetic factors that influence breast tissue composition in early life we may be able to develop safe and effective methods of prevention."
In this study, the researchers recruited 400 mother-daughter pairs and used MRI to examine breast tissue in daughters, aged 15-30-years, and a random sample of 100 of the mothers between 2003-2006. In the young women, MRI was used to measure breast water concentration to avoid exposure to radiation from mammograms. Blood was obtained from each woman within 10 days of the start of the most recent menstrual period. Mothers underwent mammography and a random sample of 100 also consented to have a breast MRI.
Boyd and colleagues found that the percent of breast water variation is higher in 15-19 year olds than in 20-30 year olds, and decreases with age, as backed by analysis of the 100 mother-daughter pairs who both had MRI.
The researchers found that in mothers, the percent of breast water as measured by MRI was strongly linked with percentage of mammographic density. Percent breast water in daughters (median 45 percent) was significantly higher than in mothers (28 percent), and decreases as their age and weight increases, but increases with increasing height. It was also linked to increasing MD in their mothers. Weight, height and the mothers MD are known risk factors for breast cancer.
Higher blood growth hormone concentrations were also linked to higher percent breast water. Results showed that each 5 cm difference in height in daughters was associated with 3 percent increase in percent breast water, which suggests a mechanism by which growth might affect the risk of cancer.
Add another key piece to the puzzle of understanding more about breast density, an inheritable characteristic known to be a cancer risk factor that could aid in developing prevention methods, according to principal investigator Norman Boyd, MD, a scientist at the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.
Boyd initially verified breast density (mammographic density, MD) as a strong risk factor for breast cancer in middle aged and older women in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007. Until now, little was known about the development of breast density in early life, or how it relates to a young woman's height, weight and age and the breast density of their mothers.
The findings of the current study indicate that risk assessment using less harmful techniques such as MRI instead of x-ray should start much earlier in life.
"It is known that the breast is most susceptible to the effects of carcinogens at early ages. Our findings suggest that differences in breast tissue composition in early life may be a potential mechanism for this increased susceptibility," said Boyd. "By identifying the environmental and genetic factors that influence breast tissue composition in early life we may be able to develop safe and effective methods of prevention."
In this study, the researchers recruited 400 mother-daughter pairs and used MRI to examine breast tissue in daughters, aged 15-30-years, and a random sample of 100 of the mothers between 2003-2006. In the young women, MRI was used to measure breast water concentration to avoid exposure to radiation from mammograms. Blood was obtained from each woman within 10 days of the start of the most recent menstrual period. Mothers underwent mammography and a random sample of 100 also consented to have a breast MRI.
Boyd and colleagues found that the percent of breast water variation is higher in 15-19 year olds than in 20-30 year olds, and decreases with age, as backed by analysis of the 100 mother-daughter pairs who both had MRI.
The researchers found that in mothers, the percent of breast water as measured by MRI was strongly linked with percentage of mammographic density. Percent breast water in daughters (median 45 percent) was significantly higher than in mothers (28 percent), and decreases as their age and weight increases, but increases with increasing height. It was also linked to increasing MD in their mothers. Weight, height and the mothers MD are known risk factors for breast cancer.
Higher blood growth hormone concentrations were also linked to higher percent breast water. Results showed that each 5 cm difference in height in daughters was associated with 3 percent increase in percent breast water, which suggests a mechanism by which growth might affect the risk of cancer.