Anywhere, United States — Mammograms are essential, preventative tools for cancer screening for millions of American women. Currently, about 10% of women are called back after receiving X-ray images of their breast for further testing, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Seven percent to 12% of women tested will receive a false-positive result, meaning the mammogram detected something that’s potentially cancer, but ends up not being the disease. Many women have said getting a mammogram is stressful… adding in a false-positive result takes it up a notch. So much so that many women are now skipping their annual screening, according to new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The study compiled data on more than three million patients between ages 40 and 73. The researchers found that, after receiving a negative mammogram result, 77% of all women came back for their next scheduled screening. But for women told to come back for another mammogram in six months due to a false-positive, only 61% of them returned. The study also found that 67% of women came back for another screening when a biopsy was recommended. The return rate dropped even lower when women received two false positives in a row; just 56% came to their next mammograms.
It also stated that Asian and Hispanic women were least likely to return for future screening mammograms after a false-positive result. Additionally, false-positive results are more common in younger women with denser breast tissue, according to the study.
For women who are called back to check an abnormal finding on their mammogram, it’s normal to feel worried or concerned, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. However, false-positive results are common, and most women who are called back don’t have breast cancer, according to the organization.
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Annie Gimbel
