The Accuracy of Mammographic Interpretation

It should come as no surprise that there is a range of skills and expertise among physicians involved in similar activities. This is true in every endeavor, and it is true for radiologists who interpret mammograms. The findings reported in this issue of the Journal by Elmore et al. 1 are therefore not unexpected. The apparent magnitude of the variation among radiologists, however, is in part a result of the trial design itself, which amplified the rates of disagreement. Of the 150 women with mammograms reviewed by the 10 radiologists studied by this group, 54 (36 percent) had benign lesions, which . . .