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| |  Inverse Relationship Between Mammographic Density and Lobular Involution: Presented at ASBS By Carole VanSickle Ellis LAS VEGAS -- May 5, 2010 -- There does not appear to be a relationship between degree of lobular involution and malignancy in postmenopausal women, researchers noted at the 11th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS). There is actually an inverse relationship between mammographic density and lobular involution, explained lead author Cristina Checka, MD, New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center, New York, New York, speaking here on April 30. Lobular involution occurs over the entirety of a woman's lifetime, but is most pronounced after menopause. After menopause, the nature of breast cancer often changes as well, which has led prior researchers to draw relationships between lobular involution and subsequent risks of developing breast cancer. The study cohort examined by Dr. Checka's team consisted of 199 women aged 60 years or older who had had a needle-localised breast biopsy at the NYU Langone Medical Center in 2008. The subjects had a total of 208 breast biopsies. Subjects and results were evaluated based on age, degree of involution, and final histology. Degree of involution was classified as none (0% involution), partial (1%-74% involution), or complete (>=75% involution). The relationship between involution and histology was evaluated using descriptive and chi-square analyses. As expected, observed Dr. Checka, the majority of women in the group exhibited complete involution -- although, she noted, 38% of the group did exhibit persistence of glandular breast tissue. In all, 8% of the women had no involution; 30% were partially involuted; and 62% had complete involution. There was no association between age and degree of lobular involution, nor did degree of lobular involution correlate with biopsy pathology. Thirty-eight percent of identified malignancies actually occurred in women with complete involution. The team concluded that there was indeed a "trend toward an inverse relationship between mammographic density and lobular involution." They also identified other trends, including an inverse relationship between breast density and age (P = .02) and between age and lobular involution (although this relationship did not reach significance in this study). Furthermore, they were able to conclude that the degree of lobular involution is not associated with malignant history. Dr. Checka observed that breast density in older women could be the result of other factors not included in the study, such as persistence of stromal features, and added that further study is needed to fully understand the "significance of lobular involution and its relationship with mammographic density in all age groups of women." [Presentation title: Mammographic Density and Lobular Involution. Abstract 25]
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