United States: A new study which shows that many women who stop getting regular mammograms because they’re scared by “false positive” results that wrongly suggest they might have breast cancer.
The study, reported on September 2 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that while 77% of women go back for a mammogram after a clear, cancer-free result, some avoid future tests after a scare.
Return Rates for Mammograms
As reported by HealthDay, But that particular percentage drops to the 61 percent if a woman get a false positive reading which requires a follow up mammogram to rule out or verify the breast cancer.
What’s more only 56 percent of the women returned for the routine mammography if a false-positive results on two consecutive mammograms returned for regular screenings.
It was also established that majority of women seek follow-up mammography after a screening if a false-positive means she needs a biopsy to rule out cancer only if 67 percent.
Implications and Recommendations
“The finding has implications for a potential increase in false-positive results, where women may stop having screening mammograms in the future,” said lead investigator Diana Miglioretti, chief of the Division of Biostatistics at University of California, Davis.
Female breasts need to move to the next regular examination schedule even if they have a scare about the false positive, Miglioretti pointed out.
“Women who had a false-positive should continue with a screen of some sort every one to two years”, stated Miglioretti in a news release by the university. “It therefore implies that such individuals who have a false positive result and especially if they are diagnosed with benign breast disease are more likely to be treated with breast cancer in the future.”
Study Data and Findings
For the study, data of over 3. 5 million screening mammograms in United States from the year 2005 to the year 2017 ushers over 1 million females in the age of 40-73 years. Technically, additional imaging is mandatory to give a second glance at an abnormal finding of the screening mammogram in 10% of the cases, researchers noted.
After 10 years of annual screening, 50- 60% of women will receive at least one false-positive result and 7-12% will receive a false call back with a biopsy recommendation.
Carmen, any abnormality on the mammogram results will warrant understandable anxiety and concern, according to the researchers.
“In light of this, there is a need to emphasize that most women who are asked to come back for other imaging after a finding at the screening mammogram do not have breast cancer,” Miglioretti said. “They should avoid having a feeling of getting worried if they are recalled for additional work-up; it is very usual and can be quite frequent.”
Addressing Anxiety and Improving Communication
Asian and Hispanic women were also the least to return to the doctors for another mammogram examination after being told that they had a false positive result, research has shown.
Women who develop anxiety while waiting for a mammogram result can ask for an interpretation of the scan right away, added Miglioretti. Some imaging centres perform this service together with a diagnostic check-up on the same day if there is an unusual result.
Miglioretti also said that the doctors also have to improve on explaining to the patients after they have tested negative they actually have breast cancer, following reporting a false positive.