title: Cancer on a mammogram is not memorable: readers remember their recalls and not cancers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if presence of cancer on a mammogram makes that mammogram more memorable.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 100 mammograms (25 cancers) were grouped into 5 sets of 20 cases. Set pairs were presented in five reads to eight radiologist readers. Readers were asked to 'clear' or 'call back' cases, and at post-baseline reads to indicate whether each case was 'new' or 'old' (remembered from prior read). Two sets were presented only at baseline, to calculate each reader's false recollection rate. For cases presented more than once ('old' cases, 100 presentations) readers could have 'correct memory' or 'memory loss'. Memory performance was defined as odds ratio of correct memory to memory loss. Multivariate logistic data regression analysis identified predictors of memory performance from: reader, set, time since last read, presence of cancer, and whether the case was called back at the last read.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Memory performance differed markedly between readers and reader identity was a highly significant predictor of memory performance. Presence of cancer was not a significant predictor of memory performance (odds ratio 0.77, 95% CI: 0.49-1.21). Whether the case was called back at the last read was a highly significant predictor (odds ratio 4.22, 95% CI: 2.70-6.61) for the model incorporating reader variability, and also the model without reader variability (odds ratio 2.67, 95% CI: 1.74-4.08).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The only statistically significant predictor of radiologist memory for a mammogram was whether the radiologist 'called it back' at a prior reading round. Presence of cancer on a mammogram did not make it memorable.
authors.affiliation: University of Notre Dame and Lake Imaging Ballarat, PO Box 75, Parkville, Vic. 3052, Australia. agpitman@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Alexander G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Pitman
authors.forename: Phebe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.forename: Lucila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zentner
authors.forename: Rodney
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Taft
authors.forename: Darryl
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shnier
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mercuri
authors.forename: Kirti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kremer
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gledhill
authors.forename: Jennifer N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Cawson
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011939:Mental Recall; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology