LUMP DOUBLES RISK

Those who find benign breast cyst are twice as likely to have cancer diagnosis

WOMEN who find a non-cancerous breast lump or cyst are at double the risk of the disease developing in years to come, research shows.

Those with a benign lump were 96% more likely to receive a positive diagnosis in the next 12 to 20 years.

And a separate study showed radiotherapy does not appear to improve survival after 30 years.

But the treatment, which has been one of the cornerstones of cancer care throughout the 20th century, did cut the chances of tumours returning in the short term for 10 years.

Prof David Cameron, of Edinburgh University and President of the European Breast Cancer Council, said: “This large study shows that women who are diagnosed with a benign breast disease appear to be at a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the long term.

“They may therefore benefit from enhanced screening.

“Mammograms quite often pick up signs of breast disease that are not cancer, such as cysts and fibroadenomas, and it’s important to remember that the majority of women with these conditions will not go on to develop breast cancer.”

The Spanish study, led by Dr Marta Roman, of the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, found about 25 out of every 1,000 with benign breast disease were later diagnosed with the cancer. This fell to 15 in 1,000 among those without it.