Dense Breast Tissue

Breast Health Information - Dense breast tissue. Women with denser breast tissue (as seen on a mammogram) have more glandular tissue and less fatty tissue, and have a higher risk of breast cancer. Unfortunately, dense breast tissue can also make it harder for doctors to spot problems on mammograms. Breast Health Information - Dense breast tissue. (more : Personal Family Race and Ethnicity History Of Breast Cancer - Risk Factors Breast Cancer You Cannot Change)


Certain benign breast conditions Women diagnosed with certain benign breast conditions may have an increased risk of breast cancer. Some of these conditions are more closely linked to breast cancer risk than others. Doctors often divide benign breast conditions into 3 general groups, depending on how they affect this risk.

Non-proliferative lesions : These conditions are not associated with overgrowth of breast tissue. They do not seem to affect breast cancer risk, or if they do, it is to a very small extent. They include :
- Fibrosis and/or simple cysts (sometimes called fibrocystic disease)
- Mild hyperplasia
- Adenosis (non-sclerosing)
- Duct ectasia
- Phyllodes tumor (benign)
- A single papilloma
- Fat necrosis
- Mastitis (infection of the breast)
- Simple fibroadenoma
- Other benign tumors (lipoma, hamartoma, hemangioma, neurofibroma)

Proliferative lesions without atypia: These conditions show excessive growth of cells in the ducts or lobules of the breast tissue. They seem to raise a woman's risk of breast cancer slightly (1½ to 2 times normal). They include :
- Usual ductal hyperplasia (without atypia)
- Complex fibroadenoma
- Sclerosing adenosis
- Several papillomas (called papillomatosis)
- Radial scar

Proliferative lesions with atypia: In these conditions, there is an overgrowth of cells in the ducts or lobules of the breast tissue, with some of the cells and no longer appearing normal. They have a stronger effect on breast cancer risk, raising it 4 to 5 times higher than normal. These types of lesions include :
- Atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH)
- Atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH)

Women with a family history of breast cancer and either hyperplasia or atypical hyperplasia have an even higher risk of developing a breast cancer. For more information on these conditions, see our document, Non-cancerous Breast Conditions.

Lobular carcinoma in situ. Women with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) have a 7- to 11-fold increased risk of developing cancer in either breast.