Does raloxifene therapy affect rnarnrnographic breast cancer screening in postrnenopausal patients?

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine mammographic breast density changes during raloxifene therapy in postmenopausal patients

Materials and methods: Fifty-five cases who were using raloxifen therapy were included in this retrospective analysis. Raloxifene was given for osteopenia and osteoporosis according to low bone mineral density measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). None of the patients were using hormone replacement therapy 12 months before the initiation of raloxifene treatment or during the study. Mammographic breast density was determined by mammography before the initiation of raloxifene treatment (baseline) and after 12 to 16 months of therapy. The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) breast density score was used for the evaluation of mammographic density.

Results: There was no change in mammographic breast density when the baseline and the first mammography taken after the initiation of therapy were compared (p = 0.32). There was no significant correlation between the duration of raloxifene treatment and mammographic density measured after raloxifene treatment (r = -0.158, p = 0.25). Only in one patient did the BI-RADS classification of 2 change to 3 after 12 months of therapy.

Conclusions: In conclusion, raloxifene therapy for 12 to 16 months does not increase mammographic breast density in postmenopausal women with low bone mass.

Breast cancer; Mammography; Raloxifene

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