Breast tissue composition and its dependence on demographic risk factors for breast cancer: non-invasive assessment by time domain diffuse optical spectroscopy

Breast tissue composition is recognized as a strong and independent risk factor for breast cancer. It is a heritable feature, but is also significantly affected by several other elements (e.g., age, menopause). Nowadays it is quantified by mammographic density, thus requiring the use of ionizing rad...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2015-06, Vol.10 (6), p.e0128941-e0128941
Main Authors:	Taroni, Paola, Quarto, Giovanna, Pifferi, Antonio, Abbate, Francesca, Balestreri, Nicola, Menna, Simona, Cassano, Enrico, Cubeddu, Rinaldo
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adult Age Aged Biological effects Birth control Blood Body mass Body Mass Index Body size Breast - pathology Breast cancer Breast Density Breast Neoplasms - pathology Cancer Cancer therapies Chemotherapy Collagen Collagens Contraceptives Demographics Demography - methods Density Female Health aspects Health risk assessment Health risks Hemoglobin Hemoglobins Humans In vivo methods and tests Invasiveness Ionizing radiation Lipids Mammary Glands, Human - abnormalities Mammary Glands, Human - pathology Mammography Mastectomy Menopause Menopause - physiology Middle Aged Oncology Optical techniques Optics Optics and Photonics - methods Oral contraceptives Oxygen Oxygen content Premenopause - physiology Radiation Risk analysis Risk Factors S parameters Saturation Scattering amplitude Spectroscopy Spectrum analysis Time domain analysis Tissues Tomography, Optical - methods Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy Wavelengths Womens health
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Breast tissue composition is recognized as a strong and independent risk factor for breast cancer. It is a heritable feature, but is also significantly affected by several other elements (e.g., age, menopause). Nowadays it is quantified by mammographic density, thus requiring the use of ionizing radiation. Optical techniques are absolutely non-invasive and have already proved effective in the investigation of biological tissues, as they are sensitive to tissue composition and structure. Time domain diffuse optical spectroscopy was performed at 7 wavelengths (635-1060 nm) on 200 subjects to derive their breast tissue composition (in terms of water, lipid and collagen content), blood parameters (total hemoglobin content and oxygen saturation level), and information on the microscopic structure (scattering amplitude and power). The dependence of all optically-derived parameters on age, menopausal status, body mass index, and use of oral contraceptives, and the correlation with mammographic density were investigated. Younger age, premenopausal status, lower body mass index values, and use of oral contraceptives all correspond to significantly higher water, collagen and total hemoglobin content, and lower lipid content (always p < 0.05 and often p < 10-4), while oxygen saturation level and scattering parameters show significant dependence only on some conditions. Even when age-adjusted groups of subjects are compared, several optically derived parameters (and in particular always collagen and total hemoglobin content) remain significantly different. Time domain diffuse optical spectroscopy can probe non-invasively breast tissue composition and physiologic blood parameters, and provide information on tissue structure. The measurement is suitable for in vivo studies and monitoring of changes in breast tissue (e.g., with age, lifestyle, chemotherapy, etc.) and to gain insight into related processes, like the origin of cancer risk associated with breast density.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203