In a substudy to Karma, scientists will study why it is more common among women with high mammographic density to develop breast cancer. The study will investigate breast tissue biopsies from women with low breast density and compare this with biopsies from women with dense breasts.
Karma Normal is a collaboration between researchers at the Karolinska Institute and physicians at the mammography clinic in Helsingborg Hospital. The study will invite randomly selected women in the Helsingborg area who already participates in Karma.
Medical doctors take biopsies from healthy breasts using the same procedures as in investigating a breast lump. The biopsies are analyzed with different methods which will present a picture of what the tissue looks like. The researchers will look into any cell composition that represents density and any composition that represents changes that would lead to a cancer later on in life.
The aim is to understand what gives rise to the density and what cell types and genes are influencing development of cancer, and hopefully to prevent breast cancer in the future.