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Breast Cancer Screening (PDQ®)
Patient VersionHealth Professional VersionLast Modified: 06/18/2008



Purpose of This PDQ Summary






Summary of Evidence






Significance






Breast Cancer Diagnosis






Breast Cancer Screening Modalities






Effect of Screening on Breast Cancer Mortality






Harms of Screening






Special Populations






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Changes to This Summary (06/18/2008)






Questions or Comments About This Summary






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Changes to This Summary (06/18/2008)

The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.

Breast Cancer Screening Modalities

Added text to state that studies have shown relatively little impact of false-positive test results on the use of subsequent mammography screening behavior, but false-positive test results may have long-term consequences, such as anxiety about breast cancer (cited Brewer et al. as reference 33).

Added text to state that there is increasing interest in using breast MRI as a screening test for breast cancer among women at elevated risk of breast cancer based on BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, a strong family history of breast cancer, or several genetic syndromes such as Li-Fraumeni or Cowden disease, and that breast MRI is a more sensitive, but less specific, modality for breast cancer detection compared with screening mammography (cited Lord et al. as reference 64 and Lehman et al. as reference 65).

Added text to state that direct back-to-back comparisons of breast MRI and mammography in young high-risk women report MRI sensitivities ranging from 71% to 100% versus mammography sensitivities of 20% to 50%.

Added text to state that it is unknown whether the increase in cancer detection is worthwhile, given the large increase in false-positive rates (cited Bermejo-Pérez et al. as reference 68).

Added text to state that the clinical role of MRI in breast imaging for average-risk women is still reserved for diagnostic evaluation.

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