Alcohol, tobacco, and mammographic density: a population-based study

Abstract

Sánchez-Contador, et al.. Alcohol, tobacco, and mammographic density: a population-based study. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Springer Verlag, 2011, 129 (1) Screening Program network. The association between MD, alcohol consumption and tobacco use was evaluated by using ordinal logistic models with random center-specific intercepts.We found a weak positive association between current alcohol intake and higher MD, with current alcohol consumption increasing the odds of high MD by 13% (OR=1.13; 95% CI 0.99-1.28) and high daily grams of alcohol being positively associated with increased MD (p for trend=0.045). There were no statistically significant differences in MD between smokers and non-smokers. Nevertheless, increased number of daily cigarettes and increased number of accumulated lifetime cigarettes were negatively associated with high MD (p for trend 0.017 and 0.021). The effect of alcohol on MD was modified by menopausal status and tobacco smoking: whereas alcohol consumption and daily grams of alcohol were positively associated with higher MD in postmenopausal women and in women who were not currently smoking, alcohol consumption had no effect on MD in premenopausal women and current smokers. 4Our results support an association between recent alcohol consumption and high MD, characterized by a modest increase in risk at low levels of current consumption and a decrease in risk among heavier drinkers. Our study also shows how the effects of alcohol in the breast can be modified by other factors, such as smoking.

The Association between Alcohol Consumption and Breast Density: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…25), that used quantitative methods, either computer assisted or visual estimation, to measure PBD in mammograms and used the continuous measures of PBD generated by these methods in the analysis of the association with alcohol consumption. Group 2 included 3 studies, with 6,078 subjects, used visual estimation of PBD to group PBD into categories for analysis, and reported results as ORs and 95% CIs (28)(29)(30) Group 3 included 6 studies (31-36) with 5,524 subjects and used the 4 categories of the Wolfe or BIRADS classifications to assess PBD. Five of these studies reported results as ORs and 95% CIs, and one gave no measure of association between alcohol and PBD.…”

Mechanics behind Breast Cancer Prevention - Focus on Obesity, Exercise and Dietary Fat

“…Several studies have demonstrated the importance of maintaining beneficial lifestyle choices throughout an individual's lifetime to reduce breast cancer risk (Bernstein et al, 1994;Hilakivi-Clarke et al, 2010;Cabanes et al, 2011;Escrich et al, 2011;Lynch et al, 2011;Kark et al, 2012). One possible explanation for this is that the initial accumulation of driver mutations which have the potential to ultimately lead to malignancy, occur in young adults.…”

Quantra™ should be considered a tool for two-grade scale mammographic breast density classification

“…3,4 Breast density refers to the proportion of the breast that is composed of fibroglandular tissue 5 and is related to established breast cancer risk factors such as genetics, hormonal agents and lifestyle characteristics. 6,7 Most importantly, breast density reduction has been shown to be a prognostic marker of response to adjuvant tamoxifen therapy in post-menopausal females. 8,9 Therefore, adding breast density information to existing breast cancer riskprediction models may improve the stratification of breast cancer risk, 10 which may lead to earlier adoption of prevention and control measures.…”