FDA Passes Rule to Enhance Cancer Detection in Women With Dense Breast Tissue

A woman gets a mammogram at the University of Michigan Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., on May 22, 2015. Detroit Free Press via AP, File/Kimberly P. Mitchell

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has passed a new rule mandating mammography facilities to notify women in case of dense breast tissue—an update expected to help in the early detection of breast cancers.

Around half of American women above the age of 40 are estimated to have dense breast tissue. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that around one in eight women will develop breast cancer during the course of their lives. Mammography is the best tool to detect and screen breast cancer.