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City life linked to cancer risk

26/11/2007

Women living in cities may be more likely to develop breast cancer, a new study suggests.

Research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America found that females living in London have denser breasts, consisting of fatty tissue, glandular tissue or a mixture of both.

More glandular breasts show denser tissue on a mammogram and have been linked to nearly four times the risk of developing breast cancer than women with fatty breasts.

Scientists from the London Breast Institute at the Princess Grace hospital studied digitised mammograms of 972 women from urban, suburban and rural areas.

Women who lived in London showed significantly denser breasts than those living outside the city.

This increased risk was most noticeable in the 45- to 54-year-old age group, which had double the risk of denser breasts.

Dr Nicholas Perry said that more research is needed to determine the precise reason for the increase in breast density to take into account lifestyle factors, stress, workplace and other possible reasons.

But he added: "Women living in cities need to pay more attention to having regular breast screening.

"Currently, women who live in urban areas are known to have lower attendance for breast screening programs than women in outlying areas."

Commenting on the study, Professor Stephen Duffy, Cancer Research UK's professor of screening, said although it is not known why women in London had denser breasts, "it may simply be related to weight".

"The Health Survey for England found that women living in London were the thinnest in the country, and breast density is known to be inversely related to body weight," he added.

"The size of the difference does not mean there is a substantial increase in risk of breast cancer for those women living in London. However, it does mean that careful attention has to be paid to the quality of breast screening X-rays in London, as greater breast density makes mammography a more challenging job."