Medically Reviewed by W. Shawn Conwell, MD, FACR

A breast cancer risk assessment can help predict a woman’s lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. The assessment asks about risk factors like age, family history of breast cancer, and genetic mutations. The provider can then use the score to determine how often the woman should have breast cancer screenings. McLeod Breast Imaging Director Dr. Shawn Conwell tells us more:

“Patients are asked to complete a breast health assessment prior to their mammogram, because most women who develop breast cancer have no other risk factors. So what we would like to be able to do is to identify women who may be at some additional risk, be that due to the family history according to her hormonal history or other risk factors that she might have. That way, we can more effectively screen women for breast cancer diagnosis. The responses to the questions we ask are used in caring for patients in that we can begin to identify who may need additional testing, be it genetics testing, or even additional testing by imaging. For those women who may be at very high risk for breast cancer, they certainly need additional screening by MRI. MRI and ultrasound are additional screenings we can use that may see things that could be missed on a mammogram, particularly in women with dense breasts.

The TC score or Tyrer-Cuzick score is a score produced by a risk assessment tool that gives us a lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. One in eight women in their lifetime may develop breast cancer, which is a true statistic, and that works out to be about 12%. For women who calculate a risk score of over 20%, those women are well above the average lifetime risk of developing cancer and are really considered to be at high risk. What we’d like to do is to identify those women who are at high risk so we can provide the right screening options for her. And what we want to do is make sure she gets a complete risk assessment. In addition, she may also benefit from genetics counseling and maybe even genetic testing and screening by additional modalities such as breast MRI.”

To learn more about your risk for breast cancer, speak with your OB/GYN or primary care provider.