Breast Cancer Screening for Women with Dense Breasts

University of Virginia Health System

If a recent mammogram showed you have dense breast tissue, you may wonder what this means for your breast cancer risk. Doctors know dense breast tissue makes breast cancer screening more difficult and it may increase the risk of breast cancer.
In the United States, there are laws that require doctors in some states to inform women when mammograms show they have dense breasts. But just what women should do in response isn't clear.

Women who have dense breasts are more likely to develop breast cancer than women with low breast density. Researchers are still trying to figure out why.
Dense breasts can make it more difficult to find breast cancer on a mammogram, and since both cancer and dense breast tissue look white or light gray on a mammogram, dense tissue may hide a tumor from view.
Learn about screening challenges and options for women with dense breasts from Jennifer A Harvey, MD, a UVA expert physician.