title: Sensitivity of mammography and physical examination of the breast for detecting breast cancer.
abstract: Mammography and physical examination of the breast are evaluated as screening instruments for detecting breast cancer based on local biopsy data obtained from women enrolled in a national breast cancer screening program. One hundren thirteen cancers (15.5%) of women who underwent biopsy) were detected. The individual sensitivities of mammography and physical examination for detecting breast cancer are 62% and 24%, respectively. The sensitivity of the two methods combined is 75% (85 of 113). Thirty-seven cancers were in situ or minimally invasive (less than or equal to 1 cm in greatest dimension). Eighty-one percent (30 of 37) of these small cancers were detected by screening, and they comprised 35% (30 of 85) of all cancers detected by mammography, physical examination, or both. Improved survival is anticipated due to this high rate of discovery of small cancers.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D010808:Physical Examination; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D012306:Risk