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Breast density— the cancer risk factor millions of women may not know about
Data suggests millions of women in the UK aren’t being told their breast density, despite it being a risk factor for cancer.
New research, published during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, has revealed a stark lack of awareness around breast density among UK women.
Just under half (40 per cent) of women over the age of 40 have dense breasts —breasts with more fibrous or glandular tissue and less fat—with Asian women more likely to have dense breasts than women of other ethnicities.
While it is normal for breast density to vary from woman to woman, studies have shown that those with extremely dense breasts are four to six times more likely to get breast cancer than a woman with fatty breast density.
It is also understood that having dense breasts makes it harder to detect breast cancer through mammography, the standard screening method worldwide.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women globally, affecting around two million women every year, with over 56,000 new cases in the UK alone. Early diagnosis is key, with over 90 per cent of women surviving for five years or more, when it is diagnosed in the early stages.
But the new research, conducted by Bristol-based health tech company, Micrima, found that 86% of women in the UK (around 23.8 million) don’t know their breast density. In fact, they are six times more likely to know their childhood phone number.
The survey, conducted in partnership with Opinium, also revealed that two thirds (67 per cent) of women are unaware that having dense breasts makes it harder to screen for breast cancer using standard methods, with one in 20 (five per cent ) thinking it makes it easier, and one in six (16 per cent) believing it makes no difference.
Based on this, Micrima estimates that as many as four million women over the age of 40 in the UK have dense breasts and don’t know they are at greater risk of developing cancer.
“I had no idea I had dense breasts”
Clare Cowhig was one of those women. She was diagnosed with invasive ductal cancer in both breasts in 2018 at the age of 50.
Despite having a clear mammogram nine months previous, she booked a private ultrasound after becoming concerned about an unusual area on her breast.
Clare was told by the sonographer that she had “the densest breasts they had ever seen” and was questioned about why she hadn’t been having MRIs due to the reduced sensitivity of mammography to find tumours in dense breasts.
“Despite my significant family history of breast cancer, and having had mammograms annually since I was 41, I had no idea I had dense breasts, or why that was significant,” says Clare.
Clare believes her cancer could have been detected sooner.
“Unfortunately, after further investigation, it was confirmed I had an invasive ductal cancer in each breast. I had highly dense breasts and these tumours never showed up on my mammograms. One tumour was stage-three and over five centimetres, the other was stage two and two centimetres. I had further areas of ‘in-situ’ disease in both.”
Following the sonographer’s comments, Clare requested her hospital records and discovered that her dense breast tissue had been noted after each of her annual mammograms, yet the information was never shared with her. Now she believes that had she been aware of this, the cancer may have been detected sooner.
“If I had been told about my dense breasts, I would have sought additional screening,” she adds.
“I believe my tumours could have been found at a smaller and less advanced stage and I wouldn’t have had to endure such extensive treatment, including a double mastectomy.”
Lack of awareness is “deeply concerning”
Adrian Waller, CEO of Micrima, which has developed a specialised scanning technology to analyse breast tissue without the need for a hospital visit, described the lack of awareness in the UK as “deeply concerning”.
“Breast density is known within the medical community, but it is not part of the standard pathway for either breast cancer screening or symptomatic service,” Waller explains.
“Our medical services have not had the resources or capacity to provide the supplemental testing required to improve detection rates for women with dense breasts.
“This is compounded as currently the only way of measuring breast density is from a woman’s initial mammogram. Until the development of Micrima’s RF based device Mi~Scan®, there hasn’t been the technology available to measure breast density simply and effectively.”
Mi~Scan®, which has shown “strong initial results” in the clinical trial phase, is designed to analyse breast tissue quickly and painlessly— without ionising radiation— to help clinicians identify the right diagnostic test for cancer detection.
“We want women to be empowered with the knowledge of their breast density so they can be in greater control of their breast health,” continues Waller.
“We also want to support the medical and radiology communities to explore and build in density measurement within the breast screening pathway, enabling more efficient delivery of personalised diagnostic pathways.”
CEO of Micrima, Adrian Waller, is calling for government regulation.
Calls for government regulation
Awareness of breast density is thought to be higher in the US, where a new FDA ruling – introduced earlier this month – requires all mammography reports and results sent to patients to include an assessment of breast density.
Waller and others are also calling for similar regulation in the UK.
“We would like to see the Government regulate around women being told their breast density when they receive results from a mammogram – much like has happened in the States,” he adds.
“Ultimately, we would like women to have their breast density measured routinely at a community level, in order for GPs or Community Diagnostic Centres to create an individualised risk profile for each of their patients.”
“Lifting the lid” on breast density
Leslie Ferris Yerger, founder and CEO of the charity My Density Matters, was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in 2017, just two months after a routine mammogram and ultrasound gave her the ‘ all clear’.
“Hidden by dense breast tissue, my cancer was left to grow and spread,” she says.
“Breast density is so important and Micrima’s research spotlights that we must do more to lift the lid on breast density and let women know why it matters. We need to empower women with knowledge so they can take ownership of their breast health. When we catch cancer sooner, the chances of survival are greater.”
Resistance training improves hip strength, balance and flexibility during menopause and may also improve lean body mass, research suggests.
A study of 72 active women aged 46 to 57 found those who completed a 12-week supervised programme saw greater gains than those who kept to their usual exercise routines.
None of the participants were taking hormone replacement therapy.
The supervised, low-impact resistance exercise programme focused on strength at the hip and shoulder, dynamic balance and flexibility.
Participants used Pvolve equipment, including resistance bands and weights around the hips, wrists and ankles, and also lifted dumbbells of varying loads.
Women in the resistance training group showed a 19 per cent increase in hip function and lower-body strength, a 21 per cent increase in full-body flexibility and a 10 per cent increase in dynamic balance, meaning the ability to stay stable while moving.
Those in the usual activity group did not show any significant improvements.
Previous studies have assessed the decline in lower limb strength and flexibility during menopause, but this is said to be the first study to compare the effect of resistance training on muscle strength and mass before, during and after menopause.
This was done by including participants in different phases of menopause rather than following the same participants over a long timeframe.
Francis Stephens, a researcher at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK, said: “These results are important because women appear to be more susceptible to loss of leg strength as they age, particularly after menopause, which can lead to increased risk of falls and hip fractures.
“This is the first study to demonstrate that a low-impact bodyweight and resistance band exercise training programme with a focus on the lower limbs, can increase hip strength, balance, and flexibility.
“Importantly, these improvements were the same in peri- and post-menopausal females when compared to pre-menopausal females, suggesting that changes associated with menopause do not mitigate the benefits of exercise.”
Although one of the researchers sits on Pvolve’s clinical advisory board, the researchers said the company did not sponsor the study or influence its results.
Stephens added that any progressive resistance exercise training focused on lower-body strength is likely to yield the same results.
He said: “The important point is for an individual to find a type of exercise, modality, location, time of day etc., that is enjoyable, sustainable, and improves everyday life.
“The participants in the present study reported an improvement in ‘enjoyment of exercise,’ and some are still using the programme since the study finished.”
Kylie Larson, a women’s health and fitness coach and founder of Elemental Coaching, who was not involved in the study, said the results were compelling.
She said: “This is particularly exciting for those that tend to think of menopause as ‘the end’. The study proves that if you incorporate strength training you can still make improvements to your muscle mass and strength, which will also have a positive ripple effect to your ability to manage your body composition.
“In addition, staying flexible and being able to balance are both keys to a healthy and functional second half of life.”
Participants in the study did four classes a week for 30 minutes each session, but Larson said even half that amount of strength training can go a long way, particularly if you emphasise progressive overload, which means gradually increasing muscle challenge through more weight.
Larson said: “Gradually increasing the challenge is what drives real change.
“Lifting heavier over time is what builds strength, protects your bones, and keeps your body resilient through menopause and beyond.”
France will reimburse reusable period products for women under 26 and those on low incomes, in a move aimed at tackling period poverty.
The measure is expected to help 6.7m people, almost a tenth of France’s population of 69m, from the start of the next academic year in the autumn.
Women under 26 with a state health insurance card, as well as women of all ages who receive special healthcare support because of limited income, will be able to claim reimbursement after buying the products from a pharmacy. The cost will be covered through the country’s social security system.
Parliament approved the measure as part of the country’s social security budget for 2024. However, no decree was issued to bring it into force, prompting anger among feminist groups and companies making the sustainable sanitary items.
A survey of 4,000 women in France in November found that one in ten had used alternatives to mainstream period products, such as ripped-up clothes, because of tight budgets, according to French charity Dons Solidaires.
France cut sales tax on period products from 20 per cent to 5.5 per cent in 2016. In 2020, Scotland became the first country in the world to sign into law free universal access to period products in public buildings.
Condé Nast will close its women’s health publication Self after 47 years, with unprofitable editions of Glamour and Wired also set to shut.
In a memo published on the magazine giant’s website on Thursday, the media company’s chief executive, Roger Lynch, said: “As audience behaviours shift, we have not seen a path for Self to continue in its current form as a digital publication.”
“Going forward, health and wellness content will be integrated into our other brands, including Allure and Glamour,” Lynch said, referring to Condé Nast’s other beauty and wellness titles.
Self, which moved to an online-only format in 2017, still reaches more than 20m people each month.
The publication has also earned significant recognition over the years, including a National Magazine award and a Webby’s People’s Voice award.
The closure is part of a wider set of operational changes across the company. Lynch also announced the end of Wired’s Italy edition, noting that while the brand “remains a strong global brand, the Italian edition has not kept pace with growth in our other markets”.
Condé Nast will also wind down Glamour’s publishing operations in Germany, Spain and Mexico.
Lynch said: “Taken together, Wired in Italy, Self and the affected Glamour markets represent a little over 1 per cent of our overall revenue.
“They also remain unprofitable, and continuing to operate them in their current form limits our ability to invest in the ideas and areas that will drive future growth.”
Beyond editorial changes, the company is also restructuring internally to adapt to technological shifts.
Lynch said Condé Nast would make “changes within our technology organisation, reflecting the rapid advancement of AI and its impact on our ability to innovate and build products faster”, adding: “Teams will be restructured to be more agile and to work more closely with our brands and customers, reducing barriers to execution.”
The latest moves follow a series of transformations at Condé Nast in recent years.
Glamour ended its print edition in 2018, followed by Allure moving to a digital-only format in 2022.
In 2024, music publication Pitchfork was folded into GQ, the company’s men’s style magazine.
More recently, last November, Vogue, one of Condé Nast’s key revenue drivers, announced it would absorb Teen Vogue to create a more “unified reader experience across titles”.
The media industry has been shrinking steadily over the years.
From 2010 to 2017, the industry lost an average of 7,305 jobs annually, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas published in December 2025.
Since 2018, the average number of job cuts in the industry has risen to 14,298 a year.
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