According to a University of Vermont study released today, post-menopausal women are more likely to have breast cancer if they are overweight and have dense breast tissue. The three-year study by UVM medical student Prudence Lam could help improve detection of breast cancer. Lam's research linked weight and breast density to the disease. However, Lam said, overweight women tend to have fatty breasts, which decreases their density. Benefits of Mammograms Breast density can be determined by a mammogram, a test most American women start undergoing when they are about 40, said Berta Geller, a UVM research associate professor who worked with Lam on the study.
Dense tissue makes a mammogram harder to read because cell irregularities are harder to determine.
Every year about 180,000 U.S. women are diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Lam's research could provide a key for women to determine their risk of the disease. The UVM study found that a family history of breast cancer did not necessarily put Vermont women into a higher risk group, Geller said. The UVM group looked at radiology and self-assessment information for 529 Vermont women with breast cancer. They compared the group to 2,116 healthy women.