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Just how valuable is double reporting in screening mammography?
1Department of Radiology, Kent and Canterbury Hospital, UK.
Clinical Radiology
|June 1, 1997
Summary
Double reporting of screening mammograms in the UK offers a small increase in cancer detection sensitivity. However, the modest gains may not justify the significant resources required for this practice.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Oncology
- Public Health
Background:
- Double reporting of screening mammograms is a common practice in UK screening units, though not mandated by the Department of Health.
- Mammogram reporting sensitivity is known to improve with radiologist experience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness and value of double reporting for mammograms within a specific screening unit.
- To quantify the impact of double reporting on cancer detection sensitivity.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from the first round of screening mammograms.
- Inclusion of interval cancers detected within three years following the initial screening.
- Comparison of reporting sensitivities between single and double reader approaches.
Main Results:
- The less experienced radiologist's sensitivity improved from 90.6% to 98.9% over three years.
- The more experienced radiologist's sensitivity ranged from 97.1% to 98.9%.
- Double reporting increased overall sensitivity by 1.5% to 4.2% compared to single readers.
Conclusions:
- The incremental increase in sensitivity from double mammogram reporting is relatively small.
- High individual reporting standards suggest that the additional resources for double reporting may not be justifiable.