title: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Risk Prediction.
abstract: Developing improved methods for breast cancer risk prediction could facilitate the targeting of interventions to women at highest risk, thereby reducing mortality, while sparing low-risk women the costs and inconvenience of unnecessary testing and procedures. However, currently available risk assessment tools fall short of achieving accurate individual risk prediction, precluding implementation of this approach. Improving these tools will require the identification of new methods of assessing risk and increasing the accuracy of existing risk indicators. We review four emerging topics that may have importance for breast cancer risk assessment: etiological heterogeneity, genetic susceptibility, mammographic breast density and assessment of breast involution.
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch, 6120 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852-7234; ;
authors.forename: Gretchen L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Gierach
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology Branch, 6120 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852-7234;
authors.forename: Xiaohong R
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch, 6120 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852-7234; ;
authors.forename: Jonine D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Figueroa
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch, 6120 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852-7234; ;
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Sherman
keywords: Breast Cancer; Epidemiology; Etiology; Genetics; Involution; Mammographic Density; Risk