Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : CIO COMPUTERIZED THERMAL IMAGING (formerly COII) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ripalip who wrote (9)	12/21/2000 4:01:50 AM
From: ripalip	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23

Factors Identified That Can Lead to False-Positive Mammograms WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Oct 18 - A review of the medical records of 2227 women who received between one and nine mammograms over a 10-year period has revealed four patient variables and three radiologic variables that independently affect the chances of a false-positive result on screening mammography. Dr. Cindy L. Christiansen, of Boston University, and colleagues report that during the study period, 6.5% of 9747 screening mammograms were false-positive and 23.8% of all the women had at least one false-positive mammogram. According to the data, the risk of a false-positive mammogram decreases with increasing age and increases with the number of breast biopsies performed, a family history of breast cancer and current or past use of estrogen. A women currently using estrogen had about a 29% increase in risk over a women not using estrogen, according their report the October 18th Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Procedural characteristics that increase the risk of a false-positive result include longer time between mammograms and not comparing the mammogram to the previous one. When a mammogram is not compared to a previous mammogram, the risk of a false-positive increases by 74%, the data show. Also, the radiologist who reads the film can decrease or increase the likelihood of a false-positive result. Among the 93 radiologists included in the study, about half had false-positive rates of <5%, about one quarter had rates between 5% and 10% and another quarter had rates >10%. "The cumulative risk of a false-positive mammogram over time varies substantially, depending on a woman's own risk profile and on several factors related to radiologic screening," Dr. Christiansen's group concludes. "For the average woman in our study, there was a 43% chance (more than 4 out of 10 women) of having a false-positive mammogram by the ninth mammogram," Dr. Christiansen told Reuters Health. "Women may receive 30 or more mammograms in a lifetime and this cumulative risk rises as the number of mammograms increases." The researchers believe it may be possible to develop an equation to predict a woman's risk of receiving a false-positive result on screening mammography. "We hope this study will serve to educate women about their risk of a false-positive, reduce their anxiety when a mammogram requires special follow-up, and will encourage women to discuss false-positive risks with their doctor and radiologist," Dr. Christiansen told Reuters Health. J Natl Cancer Inst 2000;92:1657-1666.