Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in American women. According to the American Cancer Society, about 1 in every 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime.
Charlotte Gard, an assistant professor at New Mexico State University, uses statistical analysis in her breast cancer research. Her latest research has lead to a groundbreaking online breast cancer risk calculator, which will allow women to assess their risks and make decisions about preventative health care.
With a team of researchers from University of California-San Francisco, UC-Davis, Group Health Research Institute and the Mayo Clinic, Gard created an online breast cancer risk calculator, which can calculate risk based on the following factors: age, race and ethnicity, family history, breast biopsy history, and breast density.
“Our tool is unique in that it combines both breast density and biopsy results,” Gard explained. “It’s the only risk assessment tool that includes BI-RADS breast density, which is the breast density that’s used in clinical practice.” BI-RADS stands for the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System of the American College of Radiology.
As explained in the piece from New Mexico State University:
“When a woman has a mammogram, Gard said, her radiologist will assign a breast density measure of “a,” “b,” “c” or “d,” where “a” indicates mostly fatty tissue and “d” indicates extremely dense tissue. Numerous studies that have shown that women who have dense breasts are at higher risk for developing breast cancer.”
“I think it’s important that women can understand their risk of developing breast cancer, especially as women become more informed about their breast density,” Gard said. “The concern is that women are going to be informed of their breast density and they’re not going to know what to do with that information. So here’s something that we can give them that’s geared toward helping them better understand their risk and, with their physicians, determine what the best next steps are for them.”
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REFERENCES:
1. “What Are the Key Statistics about Breast Cancer?” American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society, n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
2. “NMSU Researcher Helps Develop Online Breast Cancer Risk Calculator.” NMSU News Center. New Mexico State University, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
3. “Online Breast Cancer Risk Calculator Developed.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
4. “BCSC Breast Cancer Risk Calculator Introduction.” BCSC. Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
