Your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment score can help determine cancer risk. Here's how it's calculated

Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Scores are a tool used by medical professionals to help determine a patient’s risk of developing cancer.

The percentage of risk is calculated by looking at seven key factors: age, race, when they started menstruating, if they’ve given birth, family medical history of breast cancer, known gene mutations and past breast biopsies.

Dr. Jennifer Plichta is the director of the Duke Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Clinic in Durham.

She explained the percentages can help determine if other tests may be needed for diagnosis, even if a patient’s mammograms are clear.

“I always like to put it in the context of well what’s your risk of compared to say the average woman because that’s really where it helps us decide do we need to do anything different than what we do for those average-risk women,” said Plichta.

Earlier this week, actress Olivia Munn shared her breast cancer risk assessment score is what led to the discovery of an advanced cancer in both of her breasts.

In a series of Instagram pictures, Munn revealed her score was 37%. Her doctor then suggested a breast MRI and a biopsy which revealed an aggressive cancer in both breasts.

Munn wrote, “30 days after that biopsy I had a double mastectomy. I went from feeling completely fine one day to waking up in a hospital bed after a 10-hour surgery the next.”

The actress said she considers herself “lucky” that her cancer was caught in early stages.

Plichta explained breast MRIs are more sensitive than traditional mammograms which means they can better-detect cancers. However, the doctor said they’re not always given to patients right away.

“I love breast MRIs because they’re a very sensitive test. They’re more likely to find cancer and more likely to find it at an earlier stage, so they can be a really great test,” shared Plichta. “The biggest downside to MRIs is they’re really sensitive tests, so they’re really good at finding things but they’re not good at telling us what those things are.”

Plichta said breast MRIs can often lead to more false-positives and usually require multiple follow-up visits and exams for patients.

She continued, “It’s also expensive, insurance doesn’t always cover it. The reality is I might think something is indicated, but the patient can’t afford it and that’s just the reality of the world we live in. So, there’s a lot of considerations that go into who should be getting MRIs and whether or not that’s feasible for that patient.”

Plichta said she typically considers a breast MRI as a next step for patients with a risk assessment score over 20%.