Causes of breast cancer

Overview What is dense breast tissue? Dense breast tissue refers to the amount of fibroglandular and fibrous connective tissue that’s present within What are the parts of the breast? Your breasts are made of three kinds of tissue: • Fibrous connective tissue: Supports, protects and holds your muscles and tissues in place. It appears white on a mammogram. • Fibroglandular tissue: Made up of your glands (responsible for making milk) and ducts (tubes that carry milk to your nipple). It also appears white on a mammogram. • Fatty tissue: Fills the space between the fibrous tissue and fibroglandular tissue. Fatty tissue is dark or see-through on a mammogram. Why does breast density matter? Breast density matters because: • Dense breast tissue can make it harder to detect the signs of cancer on a mammogram. • It could increase your risk for breast cancer. Research has shown that extremely dense breast tissue puts you at four times the risk for breast cancer compared to fatty tissue. What are the different categories of dense breast tissue? Breast density is divided into four types, ranging from having very little dense tissue to extremely dense tissue. The four categories are: Rank Classification Description Prevalence A Mostly fatty tissue Your breast tissue is almost entirely fat. About 10% B Scattered fibroglandular breast tissue You have a mix of dense and fatty tissue, but the majority is fatty. About 40% C Heterogeneously dense breast tissue You have a mix of dense and fatt...

The precise The main risks are being older and having What Are the Chances of Getting Breast Cancer? In 1940, the lifetime risk of a woman developing breast cancer was 5%. Now the risk is about 13%. In about half of the cases, the woman has no known risk factors. Risk Factors You Can’t Change Being a woman. Men can get breast cancer too, but it’s 100 times more likely to affect women. History of breast cancer. A woman who has had cancer in one breast, such as Age. Your risk goes up as you age. About 77% of women diagnosed with breast cancer each year are over 50, and more than 40% are 65 and older. In women ages 40 to 50, there is a 1 in 68 chance of developing breast cancer. The highest-risk age group is those 50 to 60. t Direct family history. Having a mother, sister, or daughter ("first-degree" relative) with breast cancer puts a woman at higher risk. It's even greater if this relative developed breast cancer before 50 and had cancer in both breasts. Having one first-degree relative with breast cancer roughly doubles your risk, and having two first-degree relatives triples your risk. Having a male Genetics. About 5% to 10% of breast cancer cases are inherited. Carriers of alterations in either of two genes, called BRCA1 or BRCA2, are at higher risk. Women with an inherited alteration in the BRCA1 gene have a 72% chance of developing breast cancer by the time they’re 80. There’s a 69% chance that a woman with an inherited alteration in the BRCA2 gene will get breast canc...

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There’s currently no clear answer to what causes triple-negative breast cancer, but it’s strongly associated with a family history of breast cancer and certain gene mutations, particularly BRCA1. When you’re diagnosed with Researchers haven’t been able to determine exactly what causes a person to develop TNBC. But there are some risk factors, such as certain inherited gene mutations, associated with TNBC. This article discusses potential causes and risk factors, recommendations for screening and prevention, plus a few frequently asked questions about TNBC. In this article, we talk about the causes of triple-negative breast cancer in people assigned female at birth. It’s important to note that not everyone assigned female at birth identifies with the label “female.” However, at times we use “women” or “female” to reflect the language in a study or statistic or to make sure people can find this article with the terms they search. When possible, we aim to be inclusive and create content that reflects the diversity of our readers. People of any age and gender can develop TNBC. But it’s In addition to the BRCA1 mutation, other gene mutations may be . African American and Hispanic women have a higher rate of TNBC than White women. About Risk factors for all types of breast cancer include: • not being physically active • overweight or obesity, especially after menopause • certain hormonal contraceptives or long-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause • alcohol cons...

Did you know that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime? While you can’t usually prevent cancer, it is important to be proactive about your health. Get the free Healthy Living and Personal Risk Guideto help you protect your overall health and assess your breast cancer risk. Where can we send your copy of this helpful guide? When you’re told that you have breast cancer, it’s natural to wonder what may have caused the disease. But no one knows the exact causes of breast cancer. Doctors seldom know why one woman develops breast cancer and another doesn’t, and most women who have breast cancer will never be able to pinpoint an exact cause. What we do know is that breast cancer is always caused by damage to a cell’s DNA.