Analyzing costs and benefits of mammography screening in the workplace

Mammography is considered a very sensitive test for breast cancer, but all women with a positive mammogram will not have breast cancer. A more specific confirmatory test, a biopsy, is often the next recommended test for a woman with a positive mammogram. The utility of a screening test is influenced not only by the test characteristics, sensitivity, and specificity, but also by the prevalence of the condition in the population and the consequences of obtaining a positive result. Benefits may be calculated as reduction in mortality, reduction in morbidity, reduction in years of productive life lost, enhancement in quality of life, financial savings, or days of work saved. Risk factors for breast cancer include age, nulliparity, early onset of menstruation, late menopause, family history of breast cancer, late age of first childbirth, obesity, a high-fat diet, and certain types of benign breast disease.