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Pre-diagnosis physical activity and mammographic density in breast cancer survivors

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Summary

Purpose

To investigate the association between physical activity (PA) and mammographic density in the year before diagnosis in a population-based sample of 474 women diagnosed with stage 0–IIIA breast cancer and enrolled in the Health, Eating, Activity, and Lifestyle Study.

Methods

We collected information on PA during an interview administered at a baseline visit scheduled within the first year after diagnosis. Participants recalled the type, duration, and frequency of different PAs for the year prior to their diagnosis. Dense area and percent density were estimated, from mammograms imaged approximately 1 year before diagnosis, as a continuous measure using a computer-assisted software program. Analysis of covariance methods were used to obtain mean density across PA tertiles adjusted for confounders. We stratified analyses by menopausal status and body mass index (BMI) because these factors strongly influence density.

Results

We observed a statistically significant decline in mammographic dense area (p for trend = 0.046) and percent density (p for trend = 0.026) with increasing level of sports/recreational PA in postmenopausal women with a BMI ≥30 kg/m2. Conversely, in premenopausal women with a BMI <‰30 kg/m2, we observed a statistically significant increase in percent density with increasing level of sports/recreational PA (p for trend = 0.037).

Conclusions

Both mammographic dense area and percent density are inversely related to level of sports/recreational PA in obese postmenopausal women. Increasing PA among obese postmenopausal women may be a reasonable intervention approach to reduce mammographic density.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported through NCI contracts N01-CN-75036-20, NO1-CN-05228, NO1-PC-67010, and training grant T32 CA09661. A portion of this work was conducted through the Clinical Research Center at the University of Washington and supported by the National Institutes of Health, Grant M01-RR-00037, and the University of New Mexico, NCRR M01-RR-0997. We would like to thank Kristin LaCroix, Shelley Tworoger, and Lynda McVarish for their contributions to the HEAL study, as well as the HEAL participants for their ongoing dedication to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Melinda L. Irwin

  2. Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, WA, USA

    Erin J. Aiello

  3. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA

    Anne McTiernan

  4. Cancer Research & Treatment Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    Richard N. Baumgartner & Kathy B. Baumgartner

  5. Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Leslie Bernstein & Frank D. Gilliland

  6. Applied Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Rachel Ballard-Barbash

Authors
  1. Melinda L. Irwin
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  2. Erin J. Aiello
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  3. Anne McTiernan
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  4. Richard N. Baumgartner
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  5. Kathy B. Baumgartner
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  6. Leslie Bernstein
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  7. Frank D. Gilliland
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  8. Rachel Ballard-Barbash
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melinda L. Irwin.

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Irwin, M.L., Aiello, E.J., McTiernan, A. et al. Pre-diagnosis physical activity and mammographic density in breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer Res Treat 95, 171–178 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-005-9063-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-005-9063-1

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