Journal article

High mammographic density is associated with an increase in stromal collagen and immune cells within the mammary epithelium

CW Huo, G Chew, P Hill, D Huang, W Ingman, L Hodson, KA Brown, A Magenau, AH Allam, E McGhee, P Timpson, MA Henderson, EW Thompson, K Britt

Breast Cancer Research | Published : 2015

Abstract

Introduction: Mammographic density (MD), after adjustment for a women's age and body mass index, is a strong and independent risk factor for breast cancer (BC). Although the BC risk attributable to increased MD is significant in healthy women, the biological basis of high mammographic density (HMD) causation and how it raises BC risk remain elusive. We assessed the histological and immunohistochemical differences between matched HMD and low mammographic density (LMD) breast tissues from healthy women to define which cell features may mediate the increased MD and MD-associated BC risk. Methods: Tissues were obtained between 2008 and 2013 from 41 women undergoing prophylactic mastectomy becaus..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank St. Vincent's BreastScreen, St. Vincent's Hospital, Victoria, Australia, for help with radiography and tissue sampling and Victorian Cancer Biobank and St. Vincent's Department of Pathology for assistance with tissue accrual and processing. This work was supported in part by the Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium, the St. Vincent's Hospital Research Endowment Fund, the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and the University of Melbourne Research Grant Support Scheme (MRGSS). CWH is supported by the Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) through the University of Melbourne. GC is supported by a postgraduate scholarship from the NHMRC. WI is an A/Prof of Breast Cancer Research and is also supported by an NBCF Early Career Fellowship. KAB is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Award. PT is funded by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship, a Cancer Institute New South Wales (CINSW) Fellowship and the NHMRC. EWT is supported in part by the EMPathy Breast Cancer Network, which is a National Collaborative Research Program of the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF CG-10-04), Australia. KB is supported by an NBCF Early Career Fellowship.