The results of a study on more than 700,000 women in Spain who participated in breast screening have been presented.
The study compared those who had been diagnosed with any benign breast disease, including fibroadenomas and cysts, with those who had not been diagnosed with any breast disease.
The results indicate that women with benign breast disease face an increased risk of breast cancer in the long term. Specifically, the risk of breast cancer nearly doubles in women diagnosed with benign breast disease.
The increased risk of breast cancer noted by the study persisted for at least two decades. The researchers say this group of women could benefit from more frequent screening to ensure that those who do develop cancer are diagnosed early, when the chances of survival are best.
The research has been presented at the Thirteenth European Congress on Breast Cancer, held in Barcelona, by Dr. Marta Román, from the Epidemiology and Evaluation Service of the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona. The study included 778,306 women between the ages of 50 and 69 who underwent breast screening at least once between 1996 and 2015 in one of the 20 centers in Spain. The researchers followed the women through 2017, and during that time, 17,827 of them were diagnosed with benign breast disease, while 11,708 were diagnosed with breast cancer.
Marta Román and Xavier Castells, from the research team. (Photo: Hospital del Mar)
The data showed that, among women with benign breast disease, about 25 in 1,000 were later diagnosed with breast cancer. Among women without benign breast disease, about 15 out of 1,000 were diagnosed with breast cancer. The highest risk was found in women with benign breast disease regardless of age and the risk persisted for at least 20 years; women followed for less than four years were 99% more likely to receive a breast cancer diagnosis, and women followed for 12 to 20 years were 96% more likely to receive a breast cancer diagnosis.
“This is important,” explains Dr. Román. “It suggests that benign breast disease is a key indicator that a woman is at increased risk of breast cancer, rather than just something that could turn into cancer. In fact, we often find benign disease in one breast and then cancer develops in the other breast.
“We can use this knowledge, along with what we know about other risk factors, to help optimize the breast examination we offer to women. For example, if a woman is diagnosed with benign breast disease and has other risk factors, high-risk patients, such as a family history of breast cancer, may benefit from more frequent screening,” he adds.
The study is titled “Long-Term Risk of Breast Cancer after Diagnosis of Benign Breast Disease by Screening Mammography.” And it has been published in the academic journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. (Source: Hospital del Mar)