False-Positive Screening Mammograms: Good News, but More To Do

Editorials6 July 1999False-Positive Screening Mammograms: Good News, but More To DoSuzanne W. Fletcher, MDSuzanne W. Fletcher, MDHarvard Medical School; Boston, MA 02215 (Fletcher)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-131-1-199907060-00011 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In the war against cancer, little progress has been made in preventing cancer occurrence. Except for cancer of the lung, we do not even know how to prevent most common cancers. Medical strategies, therefore, have been primarily aimed at treatment and, increasingly over the past few decades, screening for occult disease.Screening has been most successful for cervical cancer, resulting in a 75% decrease in cervical cancer mortality rates from 1950 to 1994 (1). But the mortality rate from breast cancer is now beginning to decline as well, by 5.6% between 1990 and 1994 (1); the decrease is almost certainly ...References1. Ries LA, Kosary CL, Hankey BF, Miller BA, Harras A, Edwards BK, ed. SEER Cancer Statistics Review. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; 1997. NIH publication no. 97-2789. Google Scholar2. Self-reported use of mammography among women aged > or =40 years—United States, 1989 and 1995. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1997;46:937-41. Google Scholar3. Brown ML, Houn F, Sickles EA, Kessler L. Screening mammography in community practice: positive predictive value of abnormal findings and yield of follow-up diagnostic procedures. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1995;165:1373-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Elmore JG, Barton MB, Moceri VM, Polk S, Arena PJ, Fletcher SW. Ten-year risk of false positive screening mammograms and clinical breast examinations. 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Burman ML, Taplin SH, Herta DF, Elmore JG. Effect of false-positive mammograms on interval breast cancer screening in a health maintenance organization. Ann Intern Med. 1999;131:1-6. LinkGoogle Scholar11. Pisano ED, Earp JA, Schell M, Vokaty K, Denham A. Screening behavior of women after a false-positive mammogram. Radiology. 1998;208:245-9. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. McCaul KD, Branstetter AD, Schroeder DM, Glasgow RE. What is the relationship between breast cancer risk and mammography screening? A meta-analytic review. Health Psychol. 1996;15:423-9. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. Moore FD. Breast self-examination [Editorial]. N Engl J Med. 1978;299:304-5. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. Bassett LW, Hendrick RE, Bassford TL, et al. Quality Determinants of Mammography. Clinical Practice Guideline No. 13. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; 1994. AHCPR publication no. 95-0632. Google Scholar15. Paskett ED, Rimer BK. Psychosocial effects of abnormal pap tests and mammograms: A review. J Womens Health. 1995;4:73-82. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA 02215 (Fletcher)Corresponding Author: Suzanne W. Fletcher, MD, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Suite 200, 126 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoEffect of False-Positive Mammograms on Interval Breast Cancer Screening in a Health Maintenance Organization Marcia L. Burman , Stephen H. Taplin , Douglas F. Herta , and Joann G. Elmore Metrics Cited ByShort-term outcomes of chemoprevention, genetic susceptibility testing, and screening interventions: What are they? How are they measured? When should they be measured?Short-Term Impact of Cancer Prevention and Screening Activities on Quality of LifeImpact of false-positive mammography on subsequent screening attendance and risk of cancerBreast Enhanced Scintigraphy Testing Distinguishes Between Normal, Inflammatory Breast Changes, and Breast Cancer: A Prospective Analysis and Comparison With MammographyMammography utilization after a benign breast biopsy among hispanic and non-Hispanic womenUsing Information on Breast Cancer Growth, Spread, and Detectability to Find the Most Effective Ways for Screening to Reduce Breast Cancer DeathFalse-Positive Screening Mammograms: Effect of Immediate versus Later Work-up on Patient StressThe breast carcinoma screening interval is importantEffect of false-positive mammograms on interval breast cancer screening in a health maintenance organization 6 July 1999Volume 131, Issue 1Page: 60-62KeywordsAnxietyBiopsyBreast cancerCancer preventionCancer screeningCervical cancerForecastingLung and intrathoracic tumorsMammographyPatients Issue Published: 6 July 1999 CopyrightCopyright © 1999 by American College of Physicians. 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