Actress Olivia Munn announced last week that she spent the past year battling breast cancer. She did her regular mammograms and took the genetic test that looked for the breast cancer gene. Both yielded clean results. Then her doctor calculated her breast cancer risk assessment score. She then had an MRI, ultrasound, and biopsy that showed an aggressive, fast-moving cancer in both breasts. She credits this risk calculator with saving her life.
The most widely accepted breast cancer risk test is known as the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment Calculator, which asks a wide range of questions about age, weight, menstruation, family history, and breast density.
The test is straightforward but does have shortcomings, particularly as it often underscores African American women, says Dr. Amanda Woodworth, director of Breast Health at Keck Medicine of USC.
Overall, Woodworth says a woman’s lifetime risk of developing breast cancer sits around 11%. Munn’s case — who discovered she had a 37% risk — is considered high.
“Anything higher than a 20% is considered high risk. So that's the magic cut-off that we look for. What we do with that number then is determine if you qualify for additional testing beyond a mammogram,” she explains.
Woodworth adds that other forms of screenings are available to women. That includes MRIs for those who have a family history of breast cancer.
She points out that even women who had a low risk of breast cancer ended up getting a positive diagnosis.
“It doesn't mean that if you're low that you can maybe back off of your mammograms. It's just important to always keep in mind, that yes, everyone should be getting an annual mammogram, meaning once a year,”’ Woodworth advises. “And if you feel something, then you should be calling your primary doctor or OBGYN to make sure that you get worked up appropriately.”