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Breast Cancer Research
Published in: Breast Cancer Research 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

The effect of weight change on changes in breast density measures over menopause in a breast cancer screening cohort

Authors: Johanna Olga Pauline Wanders, Marije Fokje Bakker, Wouter Bernard Veldhuis, Petra Huberdina Maria Peeters, Carla Henrica van Gils

Published in: Breast Cancer Research | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Introduction

High weight and high percentage mammographic breast density are both breast cancer risk factors but are negatively correlated. Therefore, we wanted to obtain more insight into this apparent paradox.

Methods

We investigated in a longitudinal study how weight change over menopause is related to changes in mammographic breast features. Five hundred ninety-one participants of the EPIC-NL cohort were divided into three groups according to their prospectively measured weight change over menopause: (1) weight loss (more than −3.0 %), (2) stable weight (between −3.0 % and +3.0 %), and (3) weight gain (more than 3.0 %). SPSS GLM univariate analysis was used to determine both the mean breast measure changes in, and the trend over, the weight change groups.

Results

Over a median period of 5 years, the mean changes in percent density in these groups were −5.0 % (95 % confidence interval (CI) −8.0; −2.1), −6.8 % (95 % CI −9.0; −4.5), and −10.2 % (95 % CI −12.5; −7.9), respectively (P-trend = 0.001). The mean changes in dense area were −16.7 cm2 (95 % CI −20.1; −13.4), −16.4 cm2 (95 % CI −18.9; −13.9), and −18.1 cm2 (95 % CI −20.6; −15.5), respectively (P-trend = 0.437). Finally, the mean changes in nondense area were −6.1 cm2 (95 % CI −11.9; −0.4), −0.6 cm2 (95 % CI −4.9; 3.8), and 5.3 cm2 (95 % CI 0.9; 9.8), respectively (P-trend < 0.001).

Conclusions

Going through menopause is associated with a decrease in both percent density and dense area. Owing to an increase in the nondense tissue, the decrease in percent density is largest in women who gain weight. The decrease in dense area is not related to weight change. So the fact that both high percent density and high weight or weight gain are associated with high postmenopausal breast cancer risk can probably not be explained by an increase (or slower decrease) of dense area in women gaining weight compared with women losing weight or maintaining a stable weight. These results suggest that weight and dense area are presumably two independent postmenopausal breast cancer risk factors.
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Metadata
Title
The effect of weight change on changes in breast density measures over menopause in a breast cancer screening cohort
Authors
Johanna Olga Pauline Wanders
Marije Fokje Bakker
Wouter Bernard Veldhuis
Petra Huberdina Maria Peeters
Carla Henrica van Gils
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Breast Cancer Research / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1465-542X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-015-0583-2

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