Assessing Breast Cancer Risk among Iranian Women Using the Gail Model.

Introduction & Aim: Breast cancer risk assessment is a helpful method for estimating development of breast cancer at the population level. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants consisted of a group of 3,847 volunteers (mean ± SD age: 463 ± 7.59 years) in a convenience sample of women referred to health centers affiliated to TehranUniversity of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. The risk of breast cancer was estimated by applying the National Cancer Institute s online version of the Gail Risk Assessment Tool. Results: Some 24.9% of women reported having one rst-degree female relative with breast cancer, with 8.05% of them having two or more rst-degree relatives with breast cancer. The mean five-year risk of breast cancer for all participants was 1.61±0.73%, and 9.36% of them had a five-year risk of breast cancer > 1.66%. The mean lifetime risk of breast cancer was 11.7±3.91%. Conclusions: The Gail model is useful for assessing probability of breast cancer in Iranian women. Based on their breast cancer risk, women may decide to accept further screening services