Mammographic density changes in surgical weight loss-an indication for personalized screening

BACKGROUND: Obesity and high radiologic breast density independently increase breast cancer risk. We evaluated the effect of surgical weight loss on mammographic density (MD). METHODS: Patients undergoing bariatric surgery and screening mammography (MG) were identified, data regarding demographics, comorbidities, calculated and genetic breast cancer risk was collected. Patients had a MG before and after surgery. Fellowship-trained breast radiologists assigned Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System density categories. RESULTS: Patients underwent sleeve gastrectomy (n = 56) or gastric bypass (n = 7), 78% had hypertension, 48% had diabetes. Four had deleterious BRCA mutations, four were calculated high risk. Mean weight loss = 28.7 kg. Mean initial BMI = 44.3 kg/m(2) (range:33–77), final BMI = 33.6 kg/m(2) (range:20–62;p < 0.01). Density was unchanged in 53, decreased in 1, increased in 9. Of these 9(14%), 5 changed from almost entirely fatty to scattered MD, and 4 changed from scattered MD to heterogeneously dense. Mean weight loss of the 9 with increased MD was greater than the cohort (37.7vs.28.7 kg;p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical weight loss increased MD in 14%. Increased MD masks malignancies, patients may benefit from additional screening based on calculated risk assessments that include MD.