Should women be informed of breast density?

Over the past 2 years, the breast advocacy group known as Are You Dense? has gained recognition through its quest to ensure that women with dense breast tissue have access to early breast cancer diagnosis. Their stated mission is to ensure that women are informed of their breast density, the limitations of mammography in detecting breast cancer in dense breast tissue, and the added risk that dense breast tissue confers to an individual woman. The organization advocates for and supports state and federal legislative actions requiring the communication of breast density informations and access to reliable screening tools for women with dense breast tissue [1]. Although the goals of Are You Dense? are laudable and the ACR has statedthat it supportsanFDAmandate thatbreastdensitybe includedinmammography reports, Mammography Quality Standards Act regulations do not require that breast density be reported in either the mammography reports sent to referring physicians or the lay reports sent to women. Advocates claim that the primary benefit to women derived from receiving breast density information is a better understanding of cancer risk and the awareness that supplemental imaging beyondscreeningmammographymaybe needed. However, these assertions disregard certain consequences that may offset the stated benefits, including the following: