Hormone replacement therapy, previous breast surgery, and a low body mass index may reduce the accuracy of screening mammography, according to a study in the August issue of the British Medical Journal.
Hormone replacement therapy, previous breast surgery, and a low body mass index may reduce the accuracy of screening mammography, according to a study in the August issue of the British Medical Journal.
Age, family history, physical activity levels, smoking, and alcohol consumption did not significantly affect the exam's sensitivity or specificity.
Dr. Emily Banks, deputy director of the cancer research U.K. epidemiology unit at the University of Oxford, and colleagues studied 122,355 women from 50 to 64 years of age. The participants in the U.K.'s Million Women Study had all completed a lifestyle questionnaire and were monitored for 12 months.
The researchers reported an overall sensitivity of 86.6% and specificity of 96.8% for the diagnosis of breast cancer in 726 women.
The following factors had an adverse affect on both sensitivity and specificity:
Women who have these confounding factors also are more likely than other women to have breast cancer diagnosed between screens, Banks said.
While study results indicate that some women may be at a disadvantage in terms of screening mammogram accuracy, the researchers cautioned that it is still the best way to find early stage breast cancers.
They highlighted their results as indicative of the importance of routine screening and of women remaining vigilant between screenings.
For more from the online Diagnostic Imaging archives:
False-positive rate for screening mammography drops
Yearly mammograms prove insufficient for BRCA carriers
MR spectroscopy adds specificity to breast MR
Dutch researchers dismiss HRT link to breast density
Is the Kaiser Score More Effective than BI-RADS for Assessing Contrast-Enhanced Mammography and MRI?
October 14th 2024For women with breast-enhanced masses, Kaiser scoring (KS) demonstrated a 20 percent higher AUC than BI-RADS classification for contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) and was comparable to KS for breast MRI.
FDA Clears New Features in AI-Powered Mammography Software Suite
October 11th 2024Therapixel’s MammoScreen suite has received 510(k) FDA clearances for a breast density assessment feature and updated software that includes automated pre-reporting, which reportedly expedites reporting of mammography findings.
Multicenter Study Identifies Key Factors Associated with Mammogram-Occult Ipsilateral Breast Cancer
October 9th 2024A symptomatic first breast cancer diagnosis, prevailing breast density at a second breast cancer diagnosis and trabecular thickening on surveillance mammography were linked to mammogram-occult ipsilateral breast cancer, according to new research.
Radiology Experience, Breast Density and Screening Mammography: What New Research Reveals
October 4th 2024In a study looking at the impact of experience and case volume of breast screening radiologists, researchers found that reviewing more than 150 cases per week was necessary to achieve an 80 percent rate of true-positive assessments for malignant calcifications.