Sometimes missed, breast cancer could be better detected thanks to this method

The gold standard for breast cancer diagnosis is mammography. However, this method may not be sufficient for some women in whom the cancer is more difficult to detect.

Diagnosing breast cancer as early as possible is a major challenge. The earlier it is detected, the greater the chances of survival. This is why a breast cancer screening program is organized in France: women aged 50 to 74 are encouraged to have a mammogram every two years.

But in the 10% of women who have dense breasts, mammography is less effective at detecting cancer at an early stage. By the time they are between 50 and 70 years old, they are four times more likely to develop breast cancer than women with less dense breasts.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England conducted a large-scale study on women with dense breasts to compare different imaging techniques. The results of their study were published on May 21, 2025, in the renowned journal The Lancet . The result is clear: "additional screening could triple cancer detection in these women, saving up to 700 lives per year in the UK," the study authors said in a statement.

To reach this conclusion, they tested different imaging methods on 9,000 women with dense breasts and negative mammograms. Two methods were able to detect many cancers missed by mammography: contrast-enhanced mammography and abbreviated MRI. They detected 17 to 19 cancers per 1,000 women.

This is particularly the case for Louise. At 60, she had a mammogram that was negative but revealed that she had dense breasts. She then participated in the trial led by the University of Cambridge. An abbreviated MRI detected a small mass in one of her breasts. It was very early-stage cancer. After surgery and a short course of radiotherapy, she was cured. "I feel very lucky. Without this research, I could have had a very different experience," she said in the press release.

Like Louise, "enhanced breast cancer screening" with either method in addition to mammography would "detect 3,500 additional cancers per year" in the UK alone. The British researchers are therefore calling on the country, and the rest of the world, to "improve screening programs" for women with dense breasts. "This study has global implications for all countries where screening of women with dense breast tissue is carried out," says Professor Fiona Gilbert, lead author of the study.