Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Clinical Imaging of Microwave Mammography
Published on: November 14, 2025
Mammographers' perception of women's breast cancer risk
Joseph R Egger1, Gary R Cutter, Patricia A Carney
1Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA.
Objective:
To understand mammographers' perception of individual women's breast cancer risk.
Materials And Methods:
Radiologists interpreting screening mammography examinations completed a mailed survey consisting of questions pertaining to demographic and clinical practice characteristics, as well as 2 vignettes describing different risk profiles of women. Respondents were asked to estimate the probability of a breast cancer diagnosis in the next 5 years for each vignette. Vignette responses were plotted against mean recall rates in actual clinical practice.
Results:
The survey was returned by 77% of eligible radiologists. Ninety-three percent of radiologists overestimated risk in the vignette involving a 70-year-old woman; 96% overestimated risk in the vignette involving a 41-year-old woman. Radiologists who more accurately estimated breast cancer risk were younger, worked full-time, were affiliated with an academic medical center, had fellowship training, had fewer than 10 years experience interpreting mammograms, and worked more than 40% of the time in breast imaging. However, only age was statistically significant. No association was found between radiologists' risk estimate and their recall rate.
Conclusion:
U.S. radiologists have a heightened perception of breast cancer risk.
