TITLE:
Breast Density: Does It Vary among the Main Ethnic Groups in Malaysia?
AUTHORS:
Kanaga Kumari Chelliah, Noor Shatirah Mohd Fandi Voon, Hanizan Ahamad
KEYWORDS:
Breast Cancer; Ethnic Groups; Breast Density; Mammogram; BIRADS
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medical Imaging,
Vol.3 No.4,
December
5,
2013
ABSTRACT: Breast cancer is one of the common cancers among Malaysians and
there are associated risk factors which include breast density. Therefore, this
study was done to determine the association of breast cancer risks among ethnic
groups in relation to breast density. Mammography was done on 300 women with
equal numbers of Malays, Chinese and Indians with a mean age of 53.35 ± 7.4
years. Mammograms were evaluated using BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and
Data System) protocol by two independent radiologists for breast density
categorization. Chi-square analysis showed an association between breast
density and age factor (p 0.05) whereas body mass index (BMI) was
inversely associated with breast density (p > 0.05).
There was significant difference in number of children and menopausal status (p 0.05).
Results showed that 65% of Chinese subjects had denser breast density
composition as to 50% in Malays and 35% in Indians. There was significant
difference between breast density of three ethnic groups (p 0.05)
with Chinese having 2.4 times denser breast (OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.466 - 3.948)
followed by Malays (OR = 1.020, 95% CI: 0.681 - 1.689)
and lowest in Indians (OR = 0.406, 95% CI: 0.247 - 0.668). Based
on breast density, the Chinese are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer
followed by Malays and lastly Indians.