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. 2024 Jul 31:18:1577-1588.
doi: 10.2147/PPA.S466992. eCollection 2024.

Awareness of Breast Cancer Risk Factors in Women with vs. Without High Breast Density

Jan Endrikat  1   2 , Gilda Schmidt  2 , Bhagyashree Oak  3 , Viplav Shukla  3 , Prakirti Nangia  3 , Nicolas Schleyer  1 , John Crocker  3 , Ruud Pijnapppel  4
Affiliations

Awareness of Breast Cancer Risk Factors in Women with vs. Without High Breast Density

Jan Endrikat et al. Patient Prefer Adherence. .

Abstract

Purpose: Women with high breast density (HBD) carry an increased risk for breast cancer (BC). The aim of the study was to provide data on awareness and knowledge gaps among women with vs w/o HBD about BC risk factors (BCRFs), which is the basis for effective communication about screening.

Patients and methods: This was a web-based survey of 3000 women aged ≥30 and ≤70 from six countries. It comprised of 45 questions. T-tests and chi-square tests with False Discovery Rate adjustments were conducted as applicable, with significant differences reported at α=0.05.

Results: Three-thousand women were included in the analysis, 733 (24.4%) had HBD. Overall, 39% of women were familiar with the concept of HBD in the context of BC. Thirty-one percent of women were aware of HBD as BCRF and for 24% of women HBD was personally applicable. A significantly higher proportion of women with HBD were aware of almost all BCRFs compared to women w/o HBD (p ≤ 0.05). Similarly, a significantly higher proportion of women with HBD have undergone screening procedures compared to women w/o HBD (p ≤ 0.05). Women with HBD were significantly better aware of basic facts about BC (p ≤ 0.05). A total of 1617 women underwent mammography, 904 ultrasound and 150 MRI during their last screening. The most relevant source of information about BC was the health care professional, as reported by 63% of women.

Conclusion: Overall 39% of women were familiar with HBD as BCRF. Lack of BCRF awareness may contribute to delayed screenings, missed opportunities for early detection, and potentially poorer outcomes for individuals with dense breast tissue. Thus, this information should be communicated more widely.

Keywords: breast cancer risk factors; dense breast; imaging modalities; screening; sources of information.

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Conflict of interest statement

JE and NS are Bayer employees. BO reported professional fees for conducting the study from Bayer. The other authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA Flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Women familiar with the concept of HBD in the context of BC by country (n=3000).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Awareness and personal applicability of BCRF (n=3000).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Awareness of BCRFs by BD.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Women undergone screening procedures by BD.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Awareness of basic facts about BC by BD.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Challenges with imaging procedures in most recent screening (n=3000).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Key sources of information on BC, its RFs and its screening procedures (n=3000).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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