Baton Rouge Clinic Health Library

Cancer > Breast Cancer

     Published: 10, 2003

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among females in the United States and second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women. It is so common that one out of every eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. These staggering statistics have heightened nationwide efforts to educate women about breast cancer. This resulted in the establishment of October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Other programs and public awareness campaigns are carried out locally and from coast to coast. The Baton Rouge Clinic, AMC, is among industry forerunners when it comes to patient education, exams, diagnosis and treatments of breast cancer.

Last year alone, an estimated 205,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 died from this disease. Dr. Maureen E. Jones, a physician at The Baton Rouge Clinic, says, “Given these statistics, it is not surprising that breast cancer has received such enormous attention from both the medical community and the public community.” This attention has apparently paid off as the mortality rate from breast cancer began stabilizing in 1989. Jones explained that throughout this stabilization, it was noted that a variation existed between the incidences of breast cancer and among subgroups. Jones said, “Some groups experience an increase while others a decrease in these rates. This variation in incidence has been attributed in part to increased screening and adjuvant therapy.”

Dr. Jones went on to say, “The decision to participate in breast cancer screening is an individual one which should be discussed with your physician, and as with any decision-making process, information gathering is vital to ensure that an informed decision is made.”

So what factors influence the risk of developing breast cancer? The primary risk factor for most women is increasing age. According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 235 women will develop breast cancer between the ages of birth and thirty-nine years, 1 in 25 between forty and fifty-nine years, and 1 in 15 between the ages of sixty and seventy-nine years. Presented in yet other terms, 85% of breast cancer cases occur in women over fifty years, 10% in women in their forties, and 5% in women younger than forty.

Jones explained that genetics play another role in breast cancer development with noted increased incidence observed in family members affected with the disease. In particular, risk becomes greater as there is an increased degree of relation, an increased number of family members affected, and an earlier age of relative’s diagnosis.

“Beyond age and genetics, increased estrogen exposure has also been deemed a risk factor for breast cancer,” said Jones. Such increased estrogen exposure may be found with early age of menarche (< 12 years), use of oral contraceptive pills, age at first birth > 30, age at menopause > 55, current estrogen therapy, higher post menopausal body mass index, female gender, and advanced age. This increased estrogen exposure, in part, explains the large ratio of female to male breast cancer (100:1).

So what can you do to lower your risk of dying from breast cancer? “Be an active participant in breast cancer screening,” said Jones. She explained that there are currently three methods to screen for breast cancer: mammography, clinical breast examination, and self breast examination. Jones said that regarding the exact method of screening and the ages at which to begin and end the screening process, “are controversial issues which must be discussed and decided upon after individual consultation with your physician.”

Although the age and frequency of screening between the ages of forty and fifty are controversial, The United States Preventative Services Task Force recommends screening mammography every 1 or 2 years for women age forty and older. Mammography has proven to be a valuable tool as it detects 90% of screening detected breast cancers.

Much more of a consensus exists regarding screening recommendations between the ages of 50 and 69 where mammography is recommended annually.

The exact age at which one should discontinue mammography is uncertain. This uncertainty stems from a lack of evidence as there are only two medical trials that enrolled women over the age of 69 and no trials have enrolled women over the age of 74. It is felt that women over the age of 70 with co-morbid medical conditions that limit their life expectancy are unlikely to benefit from screening.

Surprisingly, according to The United States Preventative Services Task Force, there is insufficient evidence to determine if clinical breast examination or self breast examination affect breast cancer mortality. It is recommended that women are informed that these procedures are likely to increase the need for further clinical evaluation and biopsies. However, Jones noted that clinical breast examination detects 10% of screening detected cancers, which are missed by mammography.

“I encourage all women to remain active in the breast cancer screening process,” said Jones. For more information about breast cancer and breast cancer screening, consult your physician or call The Baton Rouge Clinic, at (225) 769-4044.

If you are 40 or older and have not had a mammogram in over a year, call to schedule your mammogram today - 769-4044.

Maureen E. Jones, MD
Specializing in Internal Medicine

The Baton Rouge Clinic, AMC, offers this information as a courtesy service. Please remember that medical knowledge is always evolving and we cannot represent that any of our information is absolutely current. Please consult a physician before taking any medical action based on information gathered from this or any website.