Variability in Radiologists' Interpretations of Mammograms

Despite extensive efforts to improve the technical aspects of mammography, the extent of radiologists' variability in interpretation has seldom been examined. In a study of xeromammograms, the level of agreement on the diagnosis of benign abnormalities was relatively low, 1 but the level of agreement was higher for classifying mammographic parenchymal patterns 2 . Subsequent studies of film-screen mammograms have shown similar levels of variability, 3 , 4 which may delay the detection of breast cancer 5 . We conducted a study to determine the extent and possible sources of variability in diagnostic accuracy and subsequent recommendations for mammograms. Methods Case Selection From mammograms obtained . . .