A woman's breast density changes over her lifetime, decreasing
with age and correlating with her menopausal status. Breast
health specialists are focusing on how much breast density
augurs a risk for breast cancer. Two recent studies offered some
insights into the link between mammographic density and disease
risk. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic suggested that a reduction
in breast density over time conferred a lower breast cancer
risk, while investigators at Georgetown University hypothesized
that increases in breast density may be associated with estrogen
and progestin therapy. CELINE VACHON, PHD Celine Vachon, PhD,
and colleagues tapped into the Mayo Mammography Health Study of
nearly 20,000 women. "Breast density is not a static trait,"
said Dr. Vachon, an associate professor of epidemiology at the
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "We know that it changes. We
have seen that it decreases with increasing age and with
postmenopausal status." The women included in this analysis
underwent a screening mammogram