Women who live in urban areas have denser breasts, making them
more likely to develop breast cancer, according to a study
presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society
of North America (RSNA).
"Women living in cities need to pay more attention to having
regular breast screening," said Nicholas Perry, director of The
London Breast Institute. "Currently, women who live in urban areas
are known to have lower attendance for breast screening programs
than women in outlying areas."
Breast tissue in women may be fatty or glandular or a mixture of
both. Women with more glandular breasts show denser tissue on
amammogram and are known to have nearly four times the risk of
developing breast cancer than women with fatty breasts.
Perry and his colleagues set out to determine if there was a
relationship between breast density and area of residence.
They analyzed digital mammograms of 972 women from urban,
suburban and rural areas. They discovered that women who lived in
London had significantly denser breasts than those living outside
the city. Age-specific analyses suggested that overall differences
by area were more pronounced in women under age 50.
Perry cautioned that more research is needed to determine the
precise reason for this phenomenon, taking into account lifestyle
factors, stress, workplace and other possible contributors, but he
advised that all women maintain a recommended breast screening
regimen, and that women with dense breasts be screened with digital
mammography, which is more effective at detecting cancer in dense
breast tissue.
"Regular breast screening with mammography saves lives," said
Perry. "Access to breast screening for women living in cities must
be prioritized."
(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2007)