title: Previous imaging findings of breast cancers that occurred in combined screening negatives.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: Boo-Kyung
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Soo Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Eun Young
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Jung Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Seok Seon
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: 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*