Ten-Year Risk of False Positive Screening Mammograms and Clinical Breast Examinations

Mammography and clinical breast examination are the two principal means of screening for breast cancer. 1 The effectiveness of breast-cancer screening has been well documented in eight randomized, controlled trials, 2 but there has been less attention to its accuracy in community settings and to the consequences of a false positive result. A national review of community mammography facilities in the United States found that 1 of every 10 screening mammograms gave a false positive result. 3 Equivalent information for clinical breast examination is not available. If a woman undergoes annual screening beginning at the age of 40, she will have had 60 . . .