Women with false positive mammography results face an increased risk of a subsequent breast cancer diagnosis, according to new research published in JAMA Oncology [1].
In the U.S., about 11% of patients experience this occurrence—when a healthcare provider flags screening findings as abnormal, despite no cancer being present. This can create a cascading negative effect, leading to psychological distress and anxiety that may prevent patients from returning, experts note.
Researchers sought to better understand these trends using long-term data from the Stockholm Mammography Screening program spanning 30 years. They found that women with a false-positive mammography result had an elevated incidence of breast cancer and mortality for up to 20 years afterward.
“This study suggests that breast cancer awareness should be emphasized long term for women with a false-positive mammography result,” lead author Xinhe Mao, with the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues wrote Nov. 2. “Developing personalized surveillance programs can be beneficial for these women,” they added.
The population-based, matched-cohort study included 45,213 women who received a false positive between 1991 and 2017 in Sweden. It also incorporated 452,130 control subjects—matched based on age, calendar year of mammography and screening history—with no previous false-positive results.
Mao et al. discovered a 20-year cumulative incidence of breast cancer at 11.3% among women with a false-positive result versus 7.3% for those without. Breast cancer risk was higher for women ages 60 to 75 years at the examination (hazard ratio of 2.02) and those with lower mammographic breast density (4.65). Risk also was higher for women who underwent a biopsy at the recall (1.77) versus those without one (1.51). Overall, women with a false-positive result had an 84% higher rate of breast cancer death than those without (1.84).
Mao et al. offered three results from their study with “clear” clinical implications:
- “Besides having a biopsy, age at a false-positive mammography result and mammographic breast density should be considered in individualizing surveillance programs among women with a false-positive result.”
- “Close and intensive surveillance within the next two screening rounds may be of particular value.”
- “Long-term awareness of the disease should be promoted among women with a false-positive result to help address the increased risk of breast cancer incidence and mortality among these women.”
Read much more about the study’s findings in JAMA at the link below.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.