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Researchers are recommending that women with very dense breasts, around one in 10, should be offered additional scans as part of the UK’s NHS breast screening programme. This comes as a result of a study led by Cambridge University, which involved more than 9,000 women. The study found that using different scans from traditional mammograms could potentially triple the number of cancers detected in women with very dense breasts. The higher risk of developing breast cancer in this group is compounded by the difficulty in spotting cancers due to the dense nature of their breasts.
The trial tested various scanning methods on women with very dense breasts who had previously undergone mammograms without being diagnosed with cancer. Women and their health professionals can only identify breasts that are very dense through mammograms. One of the trial participants, Louise Duffield, 60, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, had an early-stage breast cancer detected through the additional scans. Following the diagnosis, she underwent surgery to have the tumor removed within weeks, emphasizing the importance of early detection in potentially life-saving outcomes.
Published in The Lancet, the study highlighted that alternative methods such as enhanced mammograms and fast MRI scans detected 17-19 cancers per 1,000 women screened. In comparison, traditional mammograms only detect eight cancers in every 1,000 women. By utilizing these different scanning techniques on women with very dense breasts, it is estimated that an additional 3,500 cancers could be identified annually, potentially saving 700 lives based on current uptake rates. The study emphasizes the need for a change in approach to the national screening programme to enhance early cancer detection and improve survival rates for women with very dense breasts.
Prof Fiona Gilbert, leading the research, expressed confidence in the new approach to increase early cancer diagnoses and improve women’s chances of survival. The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the need for improvements in detection rates for women with very dense breasts and highlighted ongoing efforts to fight cancer on all fronts. A new national cancer plan for England is anticipated to be released later in the year, potentially incorporating the findings from this trial to enhance cancer detection and survival outcomes
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