Additional double reading of screening mammograms by radiologic technologists: impact on screening performance...

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Public Health

Background:

• Mammography screening is crucial for early breast cancer detection.
• Current screening protocols involve radiologist review.
• Studies suggest technologist review may improve cancer detection rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively evaluate the impact of adding independent technologist double reading to standard radiologist double reading on screening mammography performance.
• To assess changes in cancer detection rate (CDR) and referral rates.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 61,251 screening mammograms read by 21 technologists and 8 radiologists over two years.
• Independent readings by technologists and radiologists, with radiologists blinded to technologist opinions.
• Follow-up data collection on referrals, biopsies, and diagnoses.

Main Results:

• Adding technologist readings to radiologist readings identified 22 additional cancers.
• This increased the cancer detection rate (CDR) from 5.27 to 5.63 per 1000 women.
• A strategy including all technologist-positive readings could increase the CDR by 12.1% while maintaining a low referral rate.

Conclusions:

• Incorporating technologist-positive readings into the referral strategy is recommended.
• This approach can enhance breast cancer detection rates in screening mammography.
• It offers a potential improvement in screening performance without significantly increasing patient recalls.