Breast Cancer Risk Higher for Urban Women

Women who have denser breasts live in urban areas, making them at greater risk for being diagnosed with breast cancer according to new research. The results of the study were detailed in a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, indicating that urban women should be particularly mindful that they are scheduling regular breast exams.

"Women living in cities need to pay more attention to having regular breast screening," said Nicholas M. Perry, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.R., director of The London Breast Institute at The Princess Grace Hospital in London, U.K. "Currently, women who live in urban areas are known to have lower attendance for breast screening programs than women in outlying areas."

Breasts are composed of fatty or glandular material or a mixture of both types. If a woman has more glandular breasts, her breasts appear denser during mammograms and she will have four times the risk of developing breast cancer than women with primarily fatty breast tissue.

In this study, the researchers attempted to find out the correlation between when women lived and their particular breast density. They analyzed the mammograms of 972 women from rural, suburban, and urban areas. They found that women who lived in London statistically were more likely to have much more denser breast than for those that lived outside of the area.

In the 45 to 54 age group, living in the city correlated with a doubled risk of increased breast density. However, the research also suggests that the difference was more pronounced in women under the age of 50. Researchers are not sure why this disparity occurs, and say that more research into possible contributors should be examined before drawing any conclusions.

However, the researchers urged women to consider this research as a wakeup call on the importance of scheduling regular mammograms, especially if they live in the city. Women with denser breasts should consider breast screening with digital mammography according to researchers, which is more likely to detect breast cancer in denser tissue.

"Regular breast screening with mammography saves lives," Dr. Perry said. "Access to breast screening for women living in cities must be prioritized."

These results are comparable to another study completed in Israel, which compared the incidents of breast cancer in Israeli women to Ethiopian women who immigrated in the area. They found that Israeli women had a higher risk of breast cancer compared to Ethiopian women, but the rate of breast cancer increased in Ethiopian born women when they adopted the lifestyles of the Israeli women.

Source:

Radiological Society of North America, "City-dwelling women at greater risk for breast cancer", Eurekalert