Costs and benefits of breast cancer diagnosis

The data from 456 breast cancer patients treated between 1978 and 1985 were retrospectively analyzed to assess the validity of present methods in the diagnosis of breast cancer. The prices and benefits of the methods and the costs of the combinations were compared. The false negative rate of one single method varied from 11.8 to 20.9 per cent, with two methods the rate was 3.7 to 7.1 per cent, and with three methods 2.5 to 3.9 per cent. With four methods no improvement in the results was noted. As a single method, fine needle aspiration biopsy was the cheapest, but it also had the highest false negative rate. The combination of clinical examination, mammography, and fine needle aspiration biopsy seemed to be the most accurate and reasonable combination for diagnosis.