Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Diabetes / 09.03.2016
Treating Diabetes Can Reduce Breast Density on Mammograms
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Zorana Andersen
Department of Public Health
Center for Epidemiology and Screening
University of Copenhagen
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Andersen: Diabetes is associated with increased risk of breast cancer, but exact mechanisms are unknown. The role of insulin has been debated. High mammographic density (MD) is one of the strongest predictors and a biomarker of breast cancer risk. Few studies have linked diabetes to mammographic density, finding none or weak inverse associations, but none had data on diabetes treatment. We examined whether diabetes and diabetes treatment are associated with mammographic density in a prospective cohort study of Danish women above age of 50 years.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Andersen: Women with diabetes, as well as clinicians working with diabetes and breast cancer and breast cancer screening, would have interest to know how different diabetes treatment can affect breast density, and hereby possibly breast cancer risk. For example, diabetic women taking insulin may possibly benefit from informing radiologists at breast cancer screening about their insulin use, due to increased breast density and increased risk of masking bias.
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