Incidence of mammograms with inconclusive results and their diagnostic utility

In Mexico, breast cancer represents the leading cause of death due to malignant pathology in women, presenting itself at a younger age. Due to an increase in BI-RADS 0 mammograms, the question arises as to what is the incidence of said result in mammograms performed during 2014 and 2017, determine the factors associated with variations in the BI-RADS determination and validate the diagnostic utility of this scale.

Cross-sectional, comparative, retrospective study. Population of 1358 women eligible 40 to 69 years in 2014 and 1650 women of the same age group in 2017. The means were compared with Pearson’s Chi-square statistical test to compare proportions in order to determine significant differences in the incidence of inconclusive results of mammography and thus estimate the usefulness of mammography as a screening test.

In 2014, 9.50% of the patients studied obtained a BI-RADS 0 result, compared to 2017, in which it was 35.4% with a Chi-square value of 278.31, which shows a higher probability 99% that there is an association between the year in which the study was conducted and the number of BI-RADS 0 reported.

The mammograms with inconclusive results from the years 2014 and 2017 showed a significant difference, for which it was determined that mammography is a highly useful diagnostic method for mass detection.