Previous imaging findings of breast cancers that occurred in combined screening negatives.
OBJECTIVE
To retrospectively evaluate previous imaging findings of breast cancers that occurred in women whose combined screening using both mammography and ultrasonography was negative.


METHODS
A search of the institutional database identified 65 patients with breast cancers who had comparable previous negative screening mammography and ultrasonography (BI-RADS category 1 or 2) within 2 years. We classified each case as true or false negative. The previous imaging findings and the final outcome were analyzed.


RESULTS
Among 65 cases, 42 (65%) were true negatives, 23 (35%) were false negatives. The abnormalities of false negatives were underestimated in 16 (70%) and unrecognized in 7 (30%). The findings were calcifications (n=8) or a mass (n=6) on mammography, a mass (n=5) or a non-mass (n=3) on ultrasonography and a density on mammography correlated with non-mass on ultrasonography (n=1). Ductal carcinoma in situ among false and true negatives accounted for 5 (22%) and 7 (17%), respectively. Symptomatic cancers among false and true negatives were 6 (26%) and 13 (31%), respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Breast cancers that rarely occurred in combined screening negatives are often retrospectively seen as minimal abnormalities on previous imaging studies.
Han
Boo-Kyung
BK
Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Ilwon-dong, Kangnam-ku, Seoul 135-710, Republic of Korea. bkhan@skku.edu
Hahn
Soo Yeon
SY
Ko
Eun Young
EY
Shin
Jung Hee
JH
Kang
Seok Seon
SS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016217:Ultrasonography, Mammary / Q000379:methods*