World Dense Breast Day: How to Improve Cancer Screening for People with Dense Breasts
- Surviving Breast Cancer
- Sep 24
- 5 min read
By Jayant (JP) Parthasarathy
Listen to JP on the SBC podcast, Breast Cancer Conversations:
Revolutionizing Breast Cancer Detection with JP Parthasarathy, founder and CEO of Astrin Biosciences
“Do you have a family history of cancer?” is a standard question doctors ask all their new patients. It’s a crucial indicator of when, how often, and for which cancers a person should be screened. But there’s another question that both doctors and patients should consider when it comes to breast cancer: “Do you have dense tissue?”
If you’re not sure what that means, or how you can find out if you have dense breasts, don’t worry. This article will tell you what you need to know about dense tissue and why this information is important for breast cancer detection.
Breast density describes the type and amount of tissue someone has. While some women have almost all fatty tissue, others can have more or entirely fibrous tissue, making their breasts more dense. Breast density is not something that can be felt; it’s only determined during a woman’s first mammogram. While it’s incredibly common – over half of women over 40 have dense breasts – it can multiply someone’s chances of developing breast cancer by up to six times – more than family history.
For those with fatty tissue, a typical mammogram will clearly reveal any existing tumors as white marks. For those with dense tissue, however, the fibers also appear white, obscuring doctors’ view of any tumors. In women with extremely dense breasts, the whole breast may appear white. Today, doctors use ultrasounds and MRIs as supplemental screening for people with dense breasts since they provide higher sensitivity and clarity than mammograms, but this is a band-aid on a bigger problem. Women with dense breasts need a more effective and sustainable screening option.
How to Screen Dense Breast Tissue for Cancer
Detecting and treating breast cancer as early as possible is one of the best ways to save lives. The American Cancer Society (ACS) reports that nearly 100 percent of women diagnosed with localized breast cancer survive five years past their diagnosis, compared to 32 percent for those diagnosed with distant spread. Screening is a powerful early detection tool, and the ACS recommends that most women start annual mammograms after they turn 40.
Once they’re eligible, all women should get a mammogram – not only for early cancer detection, but also to learn whether they have dense breasts. From there, most women with dense breasts need supplemental screening. Unfortunately, this isn’t as seamless a solution as it should be.
Most people with dense breasts are referred for a breast ultrasound, which can search through dense tissue to identify tumors using high-frequency sound waves. An ultrasound may find two to three more cancers per 1,000 women than mammograms, but can still miss several cases. Additionally, while ultrasounds are low-risk, painless, and usually covered by insurance, they lead to false positives more than 90 percent of the time. This can cause unnecessary distress for patients.
A smaller portion of women may be referred for a breast MRI, which uses magnets and radio waves to create an image of the breast. These are even more sensitive than mammograms; however, they’re also more invasive, more expensive, more likely to yield false positives and less likely to be covered by insurance. Beyond the individual-level impact, our healthcare infrastructure and the shortage of radiologists isn’t prepared to schedule, perform, and pay for the 40 million women who would need them each year.
How Blood Tests Can Improve Breast Cancer Outcomes
While mammograms and ultrasounds remain the go-to standard of care for women with dense breasts, innovation in cancer screening is essential. Advances in cancer science and technology are creating new opportunities to catch breast cancer earlier than ever. Rather than waiting for a tumor to form to find it via imaging, highly sensitive blood tests can identify cancer at stage 0 by analyzing a small blood sample before any signs or symptoms are felt.
While researchers have attempted to detect cancer through blood tests in the past, breast cancer has specifically been one of the most difficult to uncover. Unlike lung or colorectal cancers, experts estimate that detecting breast cancer in the blood would require technology 10 times more sensitive than what is currently available.
Now, thanks to breakthroughs in machine learning, catching breast cancer through blood tests may now be made a reality through proteomics – the proteins that breast cancer cells use to communicate with one another.
Proteins are the functional units of cells, meaning they reveal what cells are doing in real time. If cells are acting in a way that indicates cancer, proteins will be the first signals. Using artificial intelligence (AI), scientists have been able to sort through signals that are now 1,000 times more sensitive than previously possible to find the ones relevant to cancer, then inform the next best steps in a care plan.
For women who have dense breasts, and even those who don’t, highly specific blood tests can be a revelation, increasing access to the early detection they need for better breast cancer outcomes. More accessible and less invasive than today’s screening options, highly sensitive blood tests could be the missing piece of the breast cancer detection puzzle.
These innovative testing technologies are currently in development and will become more widely available to oncologists and patients over the next few years. In the meantime, it’s important to continue to advocate for better screening options for women with dense breasts. Understanding breast density and available screening options is a great place to start; then you can take those learnings to your next doctor’s appointment.
Ask your doctor about your breast cancer screening options and eligibility. If you’re eligible for a mammogram, it’s time to schedule one. Whether or not you have dense breasts, talk to your doctor about blood test options that may work well for you.
Note: This article offers general information and does not replace professional medical advice. Make sure to discuss your options with your healthcare provider.
About the Author:
Jayant (JP) Parthasarathy is the founder of Astrin Biosciences, a St. Paul, Minneapolis-based cancer intelligence company transforming detection and treatment via deep proteomics and AI. Motivated by his father’s cancer diagnosis and passion for research, he left his role as deputy chief science officer at UnitedHealth Group to launch Astrin in 2021. JP serves on the board at the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute and holds a Ph.D. in Brain Machine Interfaces from the University of Minnesota.
Read More:
On the Podcast: Breast Cancer Conversations
Revolutionizing Breast Cancer Detection with JP Parthasarathy, founder and CEO of Astrin Biosciences
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