Breast Density Status Changes: Frequency, Sequence, and Practice Implications

Changes in a patient's reported breast density status (dense vs nondense) trigger modifications in their cancer risk profile and supplemental screening recommendations. This study tracked the frequency and longitudinal sequence of breast density status changes among patients who received serial mammograms.

This IRB-approved, HIPAA-compliant retrospective cohort study tracked breast density changes among patients who received at least 2 mammograms over an 8-year study period. BI-RADS density assessment categories A through D, visually determined at the time of screening, were abstracted from electronic medical records and dichotomized into either nondense (categories A or B) or dense (categories C or D) status. A sequence analysis of longitudinal changes in density status was performed using Microsoft SQL.

A total of 58 895 patients underwent 231 997 screening mammograms. Most patients maintained the same BI-RADS density category A through D (87.35% [51 444/58 895]) and density status (93.35% [54 978/58 859]) throughout the study period. Among patients whose density status changed, the majority (97% [3800/3917]) had either scattered or heterogeneously dense tissue, and over half (57% [2235/3917]) alternated between dense and nondense status multiple times.

Our results suggest that many cases of density status change may be attributable to intra- and interradiologist variability rather than to true underlying changes in density. These results lend support to consideration of automated density assessment because breast density status changes can significantly impact cancer risk assessment and supplemental screening recommendations.