What Does Dense Breast Tissue Mean on a Mammogram?

Mammograms are one of our best tools for screening for breast cancer. This specialized type of X-ray exam looks for lumps or other abnormalities in your breasts. During a mammogram, your breast is compressed between two plates for X-ray imaging and evaluation.

One of the things you may hear after an X-ray is that you have dense breast tissue. What does that mean for your health? While dense breast tissue isn’t a sign of cancer, and is relatively common in women in the United States, there are some implications for your future breast cancer screening needs and breast cancer risks that you should know more about.

At Advanced Urogynecology of Maitland, Florida, board-certified OB/GYN Dr. Kristin M. Jackson ensures that all of her patients receive comprehensive breast cancer screening support. If you have dense breast tissue, she can help you better understand what you need to do to protect your long-term health and wellness.

Dense breast tissue and mammograms

Your breasts contain a mixture of dense breast tissue, such as milk glands, milk ducts, and fatty tissue. Breast tissue density varies from person to person, which is normal and not a sign of any underlying health problems.

However, more dense breast tissue tends to be more difficult to examine with a mammogram. X-ray imaging passes through fatty breast tissue, which appears transparent on the imaging plate. That’s not the case for dense breast tissue, which shows up as solid and white.

Since breast cancer also appears as solid white areas on the imaging plate, having denser breasts means that mammograms may not be as effective or reliable for you when screening for potential breast cancer. The dense breast tissue introduces an element of possible confusion in your exam results.

Medical science classifies four levels of breast tissue density. Level A is for breasts that are almost entirely composed of fatty tissue, while Level D indicates that nearly all of your breast tissue is dense. About half of mammograms find some degree of dense breast tissue.

Your breast cancer screening needs with dense breast tissue

Compressing your breasts during mammograms helps to combat the confusing impact of dense breast tissue. But, it’s still true that accurate breast cancer screening is more of a challenge when you have denser breasts. For this reason, dense breast tissue increases your overall risk of breast cancer.

What you need to do going forward depends, in part, on your other risk factors around breast cancer. Dr. Jackson discusses your risks and your breast cancer screening needs with you. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that women with average breast cancer risks receive annual mammograms beginning at age 40. However, if you have dense breast tissue and other increased risks, you may need earlier screening, more frequent mammograms, or additional screening tests.

Dense breast tissue makes mammograms more challenging to read, but studies show that this type of testing still works effectively to reduce your risk of death from breast cancer. You shouldn’t skip mammograms just because of dense breasts.

You may benefit from mammograms using newer technologies like digital imaging or from 3D mammograms that produce a more complete and accurate image by combining multiple X-ray scans. Dr. Jackson can also enhance your digital mammogram with a contrast material that includes iodine.

Other types of tests may also be able to detect breast cancer, although ultrasounds and breast MRIs are also likely to return false positives. Discuss your risks with Dr. Jackson and find out if you should plan on breast MRI or breast ultrasound testing.

With the right screening and care, you can manage your breast cancer risks and make sure that any abnormal changes in your breast tissue are caught as soon as possible. For support with screening dense breasts, contact Dr. Jackson and the Advanced Urogynecology team online or over the phone today and schedule your appointment.