Mammographic density and breast cancer pathological subtypes by menopausal status and body mass index
Fernández-Morata, Julia (Instituto Mixto de Investigación Escuela Nacional de Sanidad UNED-IMIENS)
Pollán, Marina (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Fernández de Larrea-Baza-Baz, Nerea (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Pachón-Olmos, Vanessa (Hospital Universitario La Paz (Madrid))
García-Pérez, Javier (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Castelló, Adela (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Sierra, María Ángeles (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Lucas, Pilar (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Llobet, Rafael (Universitat Politècnica de València)
Stradella, Agostina (Institut Català d'Oncologia)
Cantos, Blanca (Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda (Madrid))
Ramon y Cajal, Teresa (Institut de Recerca Sant Pau)
Santisteban, Marta (Clínica Universidad de Navarra)
Seguí, Miguel Ángel (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Santaballa Bertrán, Ana (Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe (València))
Granja, Mónica (Hospital Universitario Clínico San Carlos (Madrid))
Camps-Herrero, Julia (Hospital Universitari de la Ribera (València))
Recalde, Sabela (Institut Català d'Oncologia)
Nuñez-García, Beatriz (Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda (Madrid))
Calvo Verges, Nuria (Institut de Recerca Sant Pau)
Pérez-Gómez, Beatriz (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Pastor-Barriuso, Roberto (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Lope, Virginia (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Medicina

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Mammographic density (MD) is an established biomarker of breast cancer (BC) risk. However, its relationship to BC pathological subtypes remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate this association and assess whether it differs by body mass index (BMI) and menopausal status. MD percentage was assessed in the diagnostic mammograms of the contralateral breast of 714 BC patients recruited from eight Spanish hospitals. Participants completed an epidemiological questionnaire, and hospital researchers collected clinical and pathological data. Standardized prevalences (SPs) and standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs) for each BC pathological subtype across MD categories were estimated based on multinomial logistic regression models, both overall and stratified by BMI and menopausal status. Mean MD was 26. 1% (SD = 17. 3). Although no statistically significant differences were detected, women with MD ≥ 50% had a 13% lower SP of hormone receptor positive tumors (SPR = 0. 87; 95% CI 0. 67-1. 13), a 36% higher SP of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) tumors (SPR = 1. 36; 95% CI 0. 72-2. 58), and a 23% higher SP of triple negative (TN) tumors (SPR = 1. 23; 95% CI 0. 47-3. 22), compared to those with MD < 10%. These patterns were mainly observed in pre/perimenopausal women and in those with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. High MD might be mainly associated with the development of more aggressive and non-hormone-dependent cancers, such as HER2+ and TN BC, especially among pre/perimenopausal an overweight women.
Grants:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI15CIII/00029
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Breast density ; Breast neoplasm ; Molecular subtypes ; Body mass index ; Menopausal status
Published in:	Breast cancer research, Vol. 27, Num. 1 (October 2025) , art. 187, ISSN 1465-542X

DOI: 10.1186/s13058-025-02142-2
PMID: 41137070

10 p, 1.1 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Recerca Sant Pau
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles