The majority of women are unaware of the density of their breasts and should ask their doctor, as this has an impact on breast cancer.
Previously, it was determined that high density increased the risk of developing breast cancer. Now a new study by a team from the University of Toronto found that it also plays an important role in the risk of cancer recurrence in the same breast.
This new study was conducted over 10 years. We studied 335 women who had invasive cancer and had undergone breast-conserving surgery between 1987 and 1998.
They divided the women into three groups according to density of their breasts, low, medium and high. The average age was 63 for the first category, 58 for the second and 55 for the latter.
A woman would have a 10% chance of reappearing breast cancer in the previously affected breast. This would be increased to 21% for women with a denser breast. This shows that breast density is an important factor in the disease.