Bioelectrical Impedance Assessment of Breast Density: Ex Vivo Reliability and Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening

Abstract

Breast density is one of the several risk factors for developing breast cancer. Many women do not know their breast density nor what it means to have dense or non-dense breasts. Understanding breast density is an important factor to incorporate into breast risk to improve risk assessment and identify higher risk women with dense breasts. The purpose of this study is to test whether a device designed to non-invasively assess breast density in the field operates reliably and to understand whether it would be helpful in educating women about their breast density. The ultimate goal, beyond the scope of this project, is to encourage women, who may be at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, to partake in recommended biennial mammogram screenings. Increasing breast screening rates aids in early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. Screening mammograms provide breast density information. However, women who do not complete their recommended mammogram screenings are unaware of their breast density. The first aim of this study is to evaluate the reproducibility and repeatability of novel bioelectrical impedance testing method to determine breast density using a Quantum II Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzer (RJL Systems; Clinton Township, MI) connected to an experimental breast cup attachment. A variety of animal-derived excised soft tissues were used to test reliability and reproducibility of the device. The reliability was tested using Pearson correlation, Bland-Altman for agreement, and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) for reliability between different reliability test types: repeatability, test-retest, intra-rater, and inter-rater. The second aim retrospectively analyses data in the context of an U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) immersive, entrepreneurial training program, involving interviews with 18 health community members associated with the oncology field to understanding barriers and identify facilitators for breast health, screening and education.