Consequences of false-positive screening mammograms

Early performance measures following regular versus irregular screening attendance in the population-based screening program for breast cancer in Norway

OBJECTIVE

Irregular attendance in breast cancer screening has been associated with higher breast cancer mortality compared to regular attendance. Early performance measures of a screening program following regular versus irregular screening attendance have been less studied. We aimed to investigate early performance measures following regular versus irregular screening attendance.

METHODS

We used information from 3,302,396 screening examinations from the Cancer Registry of Norway. Examinations were classified as regular or irregular. Regular was defined as an examination 2 years ± 6 months after the prior examination, and irregular examination >2 years and 6 months after prior examination. Performance measures included recall, biopsy, screen-detected and interval cancer, positive predictive values, and histopathological tumor characteristics.

RESULTS

Recall rate was 2.4% (72,429/3,070,068) for regular and 3.5% (8217/232,328) for irregular examinations. The biopsy rate was 1.0% (29,197/3,070,068) for regular and 1.7% (3825/232,328) for irregular examinations, while the rate of screen-detected cancers 0.51% (15,664/3,070,068) versus 0.86% (2003/232,328), respectively. The adjusted odds ratio was 1.53 (95% CI: 1.49-1.56) for recall, 1.73 (95% CI: 1.68-1.80) for biopsy, and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.60-1.76) for screen-detected cancer after irregular examinations compared to regular examinations. The proportion of lymph node-positive tumors was 20.1% (2553/12,719) for regular and 25.6% (426/1662) for irregular examinations.

CONCLUSION

Irregular attendance was linked to higher rates of recall, needle biopsies, and cancer detection. Cancers detected after irregular examinations had less favorable histopathological tumor characteristics compared to cancers detected after regular examinations. Women should be encouraged to attend screening when invited to avoid delays in diagnosis.

Patient preferences for breast cancer screening: a systematic review update to inform recommendations by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care

BACKGROUND

Different guideline panels, and individuals, may make different decisions based in part on their preferences. Preferences for or against an intervention are viewed as a consequence of the relative importance people place on the expected or experienced health outcomes it incurs. These findings can then be considered as patient input when balancing effect estimates on benefits and harms reported by empirical evidence on the clinical effectiveness of screening programs. This systematic review update examined the relative importance placed by patients on the potential benefits and harms of mammography-based breast cancer screening to inform an update to the 2018 Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care's guideline on screening.

METHODS

We screened all articles from our previous review (search December 2017) and updated our searches to June 19, 2023 in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. We also screened grey literature, submissions by stakeholders, and reference lists. The target population was cisgender women and other adults assigned female at birth (including transgender men and nonbinary persons) aged ≥ 35 years and at average or moderately increased risk for breast cancer. Studies of patients with breast cancer were eligible for health-state utility data for relevant outcomes. We sought three types of data, directly through (i) disutilities of screening and curative treatment health states (measuring the impact of the outcome on one's health-related quality of life; utilities measured on a scale of 0 [death] to 1 [perfect health]), and (ii) other preference-based data, such as outcome trade-offs, and indirectly through (iii) the relative importance of benefits versus harms inferred from attitudes, intentions, and behaviors towards screening among patients provided with estimates of the magnitudes of benefit(s) and harms(s). For screening, we used machine learning as one of the reviewers after at least 50% of studies had been reviewed in duplicate by humans; full-text selection used independent review by two humans. Data extraction and risk of bias assessments used a single reviewer with verification. Our main analysis for utilities used data from utility-based health-related quality of life tools (e.g., EQ-5D) in patients; a disutility value of about 0.04 can be considered a minimally important value for the Canadian public. When suitable, we pooled utilities and explored heterogeneity. Disutilities were calculated for screening health states and between different treatment states. Non-utility data were grouped into categories, based on outcomes compared (e.g. for trade-off data), participant age, and our judgements of the net benefit of screening portrayed by the studies. Thereafter, we compared and contrasted findings while considering sample sizes, risk of bias, subgroup findings and data on knowledge scores, and created summary statements for each data set. Certainty assessments followed GRADE guidance for patient preferences and used consensus among at least two reviewers.

FINDINGS

Eighty-two studies (38 on utilities) were included. The estimated disutilities were 0.07 for a positive screening result (moderate certainty), 0.03-0.04 for a false positive (FP; "additional testing" resolved as negative for cancer) (low certainty), and 0.08 for untreated screen-detected cancer (moderate certainty) or (low certainty) an interval cancer. At ≤12 months, disutilities of mastectomy (vs. breast-conserving therapy), chemotherapy (vs. none) (low certainty), and radiation therapy (vs. none) (moderate certainty) were 0.02-0.03, 0.02-0.04, and little-to-none, respectively, though in each case findings were somewhat limited in their applicability. Over the longer term, there was moderate certainty for little-to-no disutility from mastectomy versus breast-conserving surgery/lumpectomy with radiation and from radiation. There was moderate certainty that a majority (>50%) and possibly a large majority (>75%) of women probably accept up to six cases of overdiagnosis to prevent one breast-cancer death; there was some uncertainty because of an indication that overdiagnosis was not fully understood by participants in some cases. Low certainty evidence suggested that a large majority may accept that screening may reduce breast-cancer but not all-cause mortality, at least when presented with relatively high rates of breast-cancer mortality reductions (n = 2; 2 and 5 fewer per 1000 screened), and at least a majority accept that to prevent one breast-cancer death at least a few hundred patients will receive a FP result and 10-15 will have a FP resolved through biopsy. An upper limit for an acceptable number of FPs was not evaluated. When using data from studies assessing attitudes, intentions, and screening behaviors, across all age groups but most evident for women in their 40s, preferences reduced as the net benefit presented by study authors decreased in magnitude. In a relatively low net-benefit scenario, a majority of patients in their 40s may not weigh the benefits as greater than the harms from screening whereas for women in their 50s a large majority may prefer screening (low certainty evidence for both ages). There was moderate certainty that a large majority of women 50 years of age and 50 to 69 years of age, who have usually experienced screening, weigh the benefits as greater than the harms from screening in a high net-benefit scenario. A large majority of patients aged 70-71 years who have recently screened probably think the benefits outweigh the harms of continuing to screen. A majority of women in their mid-70s to early 80s may prefer to continue screening.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence across a range of data sources on how informed patients value the potential outcomes from breast-cancer screening will be useful during decision-making for recommendations. The evidence suggests that all of the outcomes examined have importance to women of any age, that there is at least some and possibly substantial (among those in their 40s) variability across and within age groups about the acceptable magnitude of effects across outcomes, and that provision of easily understandable information on the likelihood of the outcomes may be necessary to enable informed decision making. Although studies came from a wide range of countries, there were limited data from Canada and about whether findings applied well across an ethnographically and socioeconomically diverse population.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

Protocol available at Open Science Framework https://osf.io/xngsu/ .

Tips for Addressing Screening Concerns: "Harms of Screening"

Early detection decreases deaths from breast cancer. Yet, there are conflicting recommendations about screening mammography by major professional medical organizations, including the age and frequency with which women should be screened. The controversy over breast cancer screening is centered on 3 main points: the impact on mortality, overdiagnosis, and false positive results. Some studies claim that adverse psychological effects such as anxiety or distress are caused by screening mammography. The purpose of this article is to address negative breast cancer screening concerns including overdiagnosis and overtreatment, effect on mortality, false positive results, mammography-related anxiety, and fear of radiation.

Effectiveness of Community Education for Breast Cancer Screening

OBJECTIVE

Screening based on individual risk factors results in detection of earlier, more curable breast cancer. There is expectation that improved public education about the importance of personalized screening will result in earlier diagnoses and reduced breast cancer mortality. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of community education on patient perceptions about risk-based screening.

METHODS

This study is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant and institutional review board exempt. A standardized curriculum was used by radiologists and experts to conduct nine 1-hour patient education sessions between October 2018 and January 2019 about breast cancer risk factors and screening options. Patient participants completed voluntary, anonymous pre-event and post event surveys to determine if the presented educational program led to attitude changes. Survey results were summarized using statistical analysis including mean, median, range, and percentage of participants responding and comparison of pre- and post event fear and anxiety.

RESULTS

Of 336 education session participants, 59.5% (200/336) completed the pre-event and 44.3% (149/336) completed the post event surveys, Respondents reported decreased anxiety and fear regarding breast cancer screening following educational sessions, with 36.1% (64/178) reporting anxiety pre-event compared to 23.3% (31/133) post event, although the difference was not statistically significant (P = .96). Additionally, 64.7% (55/85) of participants stated they were more likely to schedule breast cancer screening based on individual risk factors, and 98.0% (145/148) of participants reported increased knowledge on post event surveys.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates the importance and effectiveness of community-based educational programs in increasing knowledge of risk-based screening and potentially reducing anxiety related to screening.

Revolutionizing Breast Cancer Detection With Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Radiology and Radiation Oncology: A Systematic Review

The number one cause of cancer in women worldwide is breast cancer. Over the last three decades, the use of traditional screen-film mammography has increased, but in recent years, digital mammography and 3D tomosynthesis have become standard procedures for breast cancer screening. With the advancement of technology, the interpretation of images using automated algorithms has become a subject of interest. Initially, computer-aided detection (CAD) was introduced; however, it did not show any long-term benefit in clinical practice. With recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) methods, these technologies are showing promising potential for more accurate and efficient automated breast cancer detection and treatment. While AI promises widespread integration in breast cancer detection and treatment, challenges such as data quality, regulatory, ethical implications, and algorithm validation are crucial. Addressing these is essential for fully realizing AI's potential in enhancing early diagnosis and improving patient outcomes in breast cancer management. In this review article, we aim to provide an overview of the latest developments and applications of AI in breast cancer screening and treatment. While the existing literature primarily consists of retrospective studies, ongoing and future prospective research is poised to offer deeper insights. Artificial intelligence is on the verge of widespread integration into breast cancer detection and treatment, holding the potential to enhance early diagnosis and improve patient outcomes.

Quantitative evaluation of Saliency-Based Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methods in Deep Learning-Based mammogram analysis

BACKGROUND

Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is prominent in the diagnostics of opaque deep learning (DL) models, especially in medical imaging. Saliency methods are commonly used, yet there's a lack of quantitative evidence regarding their performance.

OBJECTIVES

To quantitatively evaluate the performance of widely utilized saliency XAI methods in the task of breast cancer detection on mammograms.

METHODS

Three radiologists drew ground-truth boxes on a balanced mammogram dataset of women (n = 1496 cancer-positive and negative scans) from three centers. A modified, pre-trained DL model was employed for breast cancer detection, using MLO and CC images. Saliency XAI methods, including Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM), Grad-CAM++, and Eigen-CAM, were evaluated. We utilized the Pointing Game to assess these methods, determining if the maximum value of a saliency map aligned with the bounding boxes, representing the ratio of correctly identified lesions among all cancer patients, with a value ranging from 0 to 1.

RESULTS

The development sample included 2,244 women (75%), with the remaining 748 women (25%) in the testing set for unbiased XAI evaluation. The model's recall, precision, accuracy, and F1-Score in identifying cancer in the testing set were 69%, 88%, 80%, and 0.77, respectively. The Pointing Game Scores for Grad-CAM, Grad-CAM++, and Eigen-CAM were 0.41, 0.30, and 0.35 in women with cancer and marginally increased to 0.41, 0.31, and 0.36 when considering only true-positive samples.

CONCLUSIONS

While saliency-based methods provide some degree of explainability, they frequently fall short in delineating how DL models arrive at decisions in a considerable number of instances.

Health State Utilities Associated with False-Positive Cancer Screening Results

INTRODUCTION

Early cancer detection can significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce mortality rates. Novel cancer screening approaches, including multi-cancer early detection tests, have been developed. Cost-utility analyses will be needed to examine their value, and these models require health state utilities. The purpose of this study was to estimate the disutility (i.e., decrease in health state utility) associated with false-positive cancer screening results.

METHODS

In composite time trade-off interviews using a 1-year time horizon, UK general population participants valued 10 health state vignettes describing cancer screening with true-negative or false-positive results. Each false-positive vignette described a common diagnostic pathway following a false-positive result suggesting lung, colorectal, breast, or pancreatic cancer. Every pathway ended with a negative result (no cancer detected). The disutility of each false positive was calculated as the difference between the true-negative and each false-positive health state, and because of the 1-year time horizon, each disutility can be interpreted as a quality-adjusted life-year decrement associated with each type of false-positive experience.

RESULTS

A total of 203 participants completed interviews (49.8% male; mean age = 42.0 years). The mean (SD) utility for the health state describing a true-negative result was 0.958 (0.065). Utilities for false-positive health states ranged from 0.847 (0.145) to 0.932 (0.059). Disutilities for false positives ranged from - 0.031 to - 0.111 (- 0.041 to - 0.111 for lung cancer; - 0.079 for colorectal cancer; - 0.031 to - 0.067 for breast cancer; - 0.048 to - 0.088 for pancreatic cancer).

CONCLUSION

All false-positive results were associated with a disutility. Greater disutility was associated with more invasive follow-up diagnostic procedures, longer duration of uncertainty regarding the eventual diagnosis, and perceived severity of the suspected cancer type. Utility values estimated in this study would be useful for economic modeling examining the value of cancer screening procedures.

The effectiveness of pretreatment video-based psychoeducation for patients with breast cancer

OBJECTIVES

This study confirms the effectiveness of pretreatment video-based psychoeducation on stress management and relaxation in reducing depression, anxiety, and uncertainty among patients with breast cancer.

METHODS

We conducted a nonrandomized trial with 86 pretreatment patients with breast cancer who were divided equally into intervention and control groups, and stratified according to cancer stages and patient ages. Omitting the excluded participants, 35 intervention group and 36 control group participants were asked to complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Universal Uncertainty in Illness Scale (UUIS) before the psychoeducational intervention (baseline, hereafter "BL ") as well as 1 and 3 months later. Then, a 2 group (intervention and control groups) × 3 time points (BL and 1 and 3 months post-intervention) mixed models repeated measures (MMRM) analysis was implemented.

RESULTS

Analysis confirmed interaction between 2 group × 3 time points for depression, anxiety, and UUIS. Multiple comparisons revealed that each score in the intervention group was significantly lower 1 and 3 months post-intervention compared to BL. Meanwhile, in the control group, the depression score was significantly higher at 3 months post-intervention compared to pre-intervention. The anxiety scores and UUIS of the same group were not significantly different between 1 and 3 months post-intervention. The effect size values 3 months post-intervention were -0.57 for depression, -0.25 for anxiety, and 0.05 for uncertainty.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

Pretreatment psychoeducation reduced depression, anxiety, and uncertainty in the intervention group of patients with breast cancer compared to the control group. The effect sizes at 3 months post-intervention were moderate for depression and small for anxiety. These results suggest the effectiveness of psychoeducation for patients with breast cancer, using videos on stress management and relaxation, early at the pretreatment stage.

Validation and Clinical Utility of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale as Depression Screening Tools in Collegiate Student-Athletes

CONTEXT

The National Athletic Trainers' Association recommends including mental health screening measures as part of the preparticipation examination for all student-athletes (SAs). Despite this recommendation, most mental health screening tools have not been validated in the SA population.

OBJECTIVE

To validate and examine the clinical utility of 2 depression screening tools in the collegiate SA population.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional mixed-methods study.

SETTING

Two Northeastern United States university athletics programs.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

A total of 881 (men = 426, 48.4%; women = 455, 51.6%; mean age = 19.7 ± 1.4 years) National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II collegiate SAs completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D); 290 SAs participated in a Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Depression symptoms were measured using 2 self-report depression screening tools, the PHQ-9 and CES-D, during the fall preparticipation examination. The SAs were selected using a random stratified sampling technique to participate in a Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview as the reference standard comparison for the receiver operating characteristic analysis.

RESULTS

A cutoff score of 6 on the PHQ-9 corresponded to 78% sensitivity, 75% specificity, 17.3% positive predictive value, 98.1% negative predictive value (NPV), 3.2 positive likelihood ratio (+LR), and 0.3 negative likelihood ratio (-LR). A cutoff score of 15 on the CES-D corresponded to 83% sensitivity, 78% specificity, 19.7% positive predictive value, 98.6% NPV, 3.7 +LR, and 0.22 -LR.

CONCLUSIONS

This was the first study to validate depression screening tools in the collegiate SA population. The results suggest cutoff scores on the PHQ-9 and CES-D in SA may need to be lower than those recommended for the general population and provide strong evidence for use as screeners to rule out depression. Referral and confirmatory testing should be implemented to confirm the presence of depression for SAs scoring at or above the cutoff thresholds. Given its brevity, inclusion of a suicidality or self-harm question and evidence of -LR and NPV strength, the PHQ-9 is a practical and effective screener for the SA population.

Analysis of Technical Repeat Studies in Screening Mammography

Objective

To identify causes of technical repeats, determine whether differences exist between mobile and fixed mammography units, and evaluate the rate of improvement on repeat imaging.

Methods

IRB approval was obtained for retrospective review of Enhancing Quality Using the Inspection Program (EQUIP) logs of screening mammography technical repeats performed from March 2017 to December 2018 at a hospital breast imaging center and from April 2017 to December 2018 on mobile mammography units. Frequency tables and Fisher's exact tests were used for statistical analysis.

Results

Technical deficiencies were reported in 483 cases and reviewed by two or three auditors. Auditors identified no technical deficiencies in 31 cases, which were excluded. The remaining 452 cases were assigned a technical recall category: motion, positioning/excluded tissue, skin folds, artifacts, undercompression, or contrast (under/overexposure). Motion was the most common technical recall category (253/452, 56.0%). Positioning/excluded tissue was the second most common reason (150/452, 33.2%). Statistically significant differences in technical deficiencies were identified between mammograms performed on mobile versus fixed mammography units for motion (94/143, 65.7% vs 159/309, 51.5%, respectively, P = 0.0058), skin folds (16/143, 11.2% vs 15/309, 4.8%, respectively, P = 0.02), and positioning/excluded tissue (30/143, 21% vs 120/309, 38.8%, respectively, P = 0.00016). Most recalls improved with repeat imaging (auditor 1: 451/483, 93% and auditor 2: 387/483, 80%).

Conclusion

Motion and positioning/excluded tissue are the most common reasons for screening mammography technical recalls. The reasons for technical recall differ between patients imaged on mobile and fixed mammography units, likely because of differences in each location's patient population.

Reducing ' probably benign ' assessments in normal mammograms: The role of radiologist experience

Rationale and objectives

to investigate the relationship between radiologists' experience in reporting mammograms, their caseloads, and the classification of category '3' or 'Probably Benign' on normal mammograms.

Materials and Methods

A total of 92 board-certified radiologists participated. Self-reported parameters related to experience, including age, years since qualifying as a radiologist, years of experience reading mammograms, number of mammograms read per year, and hours spent reading mammograms per week, were documented. To assess the radiologists' accuracy, "Probably Benign fractions" was calculated by dividing the number of "Probably Benign findings" given by each radiologist in the normal cases by the total number of normal cases Probably Benign fractions were correlated with various factors, such as the radiologists' experience.

Results

The results of the statistical analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between radiologist experience and 'Probably Benign' fractions for normal images. Specifically, for normal cases, the number of mammograms read per year (r = -0.29, P = 0.006) and the number of mammograms read over the radiologist's lifetime (r = -0.21, P = 0.049) were both negatively correlated with 'Probably Benign' fractions.

Conclusion

The results indicate that a relationship exists between increased reading volumes and reduced assessments of 'Probably Benign' in normal mammograms. The implications of these findings extend to the effectiveness of screening programs and the recall rates.

Head-to-head comparison of perfluorobutane contrast-enhanced US and multiparametric MRI for breast cancer: a prospective, multicenter study

BACKGROUND

Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP-MRI) has high sensitivity for diagnosing breast cancers but cannot always be used as a routine diagnostic tool. The present study aimed to evaluate whether the diagnostic performance of perfluorobutane (PFB) contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is similar to that of MP-MRI in breast cancer and whether combining the two methods would enhance diagnostic efficiency.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a head-to-head, prospective, multicenter study. Patients with breast lesions diagnosed by US as Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) categories 3, 4, and 5 underwent both PFB-CEUS and MP-MRI scans. On-site operators and three reviewers categorized the BI-RADS of all lesions on two images. Logistic-bootstrap 1000-sample analysis and cross-validation were used to construct PFB-CEUS, MP-MRI, and hybrid (PFB-CEUS + MP-MRI) models to distinguish breast lesions.

RESULTS

In total, 179 women with 186 breast lesions were evaluated from 17 centers in China. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the PFB-CEUS model to diagnose breast cancer (0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74, 0.97) was similar to that of the MP-MRI model (0.89; 95% CI 0.73, 0.97) (P = 0.85). The AUC of the hybrid model (0.92, 95% CI 0.77, 0.98) did not show a statistical advantage over the PFB-CEUS and MP-MRI models (P = 0.29 and 0.40, respectively). However, 90.3% false-positive and 66.7% false-negative results of PFB-CEUS radiologists and 90.5% false-positive and 42.8% false-negative results of MP-MRI radiologists could be corrected by the hybrid model. Three dynamic nomograms of PFB-CEUS, MP-MRI and hybrid models to diagnose breast cancer are freely available online.

CONCLUSIONS

PFB-CEUS can be used in the differential diagnosis of breast cancer with comparable performance to MP-MRI and with less time consumption. Using PFB-CEUS and MP-MRI as joint diagnostics could further strengthen the diagnostic ability. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov; NCT04657328. Registered 26 September 2020. IRB number 2020-300 was approved in Chinese PLA General Hospital. Every patient signed a written informed consent form in each center.

[Risk of false-positive result in mammography screening in Brazil]

False-positive results on mammography screening are common, putting a burden on both women and the health care system. This study aimed to estimate the risk of false-positive results in Brazilian mammography screening based on data from the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) information systems. A retrospective cohort study was conducted with women aged 40-69 years, who underwent mammography screening and breast histopathological examination at SUS from 2017 to 2019. The rate of false-positive results was estimated based on the prevalence of altered BI-RADS results on mammography screening and the proportion of benign results on breast histopathological examination. Of the 10,671 women with histopathological examination at SUS, 46.2% had a benign result, and this proportion was significantly higher in women aged 40-49 years compared to women aged 50-69 years. The estimate of false-positive results was 8.18 cases per 100 women aged 40-49 years and 6.06 per 100 women aged 50-69 years. This information is useful for public managers in evaluating mammography screening programs, as well as for health care providers to guide women on the implications of mammography screening.

The impact of population screening for cardiovascular disease on quality of life

Aims

To examine the impact of population screening-generated events on quality of life: invitation, positive test result, initiation of preventive medication, enrolment in follow-up at the surgical department, and preventive surgical repair.

Methods and results

A difference-in-difference design based on data collected alongside two randomized controlled trials where general population men were randomized to screening for cardiovascular disease or to no screening. Repeated measurements of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were conducted up to 3 years after inclusion using all relevant scales of the EuroQol instrument: the anxiety/depression dimension, the EuroQol 5-dimension profile index (using Danish preference weights), and the visual analogue scale for global health. We compare the mean change scores from before to after events for groups experiencing vs. not experiencing the events. Propensity score matching is additionally used to provide both unmatched and matched results. Invitees reported to be marginally better off than non-invitees on all scales of the EuroQol. For events of receiving the test result, initiating preventive medication, being enrolled in surveillance, and undergoing surgical repair, we observed no impact on overall HRQoL but a minor impact of being enrolled in surveillance on emotional distress, which did not persist after matching.

Conclusion

The often-claimed detrimental consequences of screening to HRQoL could not be generally confirmed. Amongst the screening events assessed, only two possible consequences were revealed: a reassurance effect after a negative screening test and a minor negative impact to emotional distress of being enrolled in surveillance that did not spill over to overall HRQoL.

Patient experiences with clinical confirmatory genetic testing after using direct-to-consumer raw DNA and third-party genetic interpretation services

The availability of raw DNA and genetic interpretation tools allow individuals to access genetic health risk information, where analytical false-positives exist. Little is known about the experience of individuals who receive pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant(s) through raw DNA interpretation and follow-up with clinical confirmatory genetic testing. This qualitative study set out to describe the experiences of individuals who pursued clinical confirmatory genetic testing, including their perception of the process. Participants were recruited from social media and eligible if they discovered a potential pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in a raw DNA interpretation report, completed clinical confirmatory genetic testing in the U.S., and provided documentation of those results. Individuals participated in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and inductively coded to identify themes. Of the 12 participants, 3 received clinical genetic testing results that confirmed pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants noted in raw DNA interpretation reports (confirmation positive), and 9 were not confirmed. Nearly all (n = 11) participants described emotional distress and information-seeking behavior as a coping mechanism after discovering a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in raw DNA interpretation. When pursuing confirmatory genetic testing, many (n = 9) faced challenges with finding knowledgeable healthcare providers and obtaining insurance coverage. Despite reporting concerns over raw DNA interpretation and a desire for more safeguards, almost all (n = 10) participants stated interest in using the service again. Overall, participants' experiences reveal they find personal utility in raw DNA interpretation results and provide insight into opportunities for patient and provider education.

Factors Associated With False-Positive Recalls in Mammography Screening

BACKGROUND

We aimed to identify factors associated with false-positive recalls in mammography screening compared with women who were not recalled and those who received true-positive recalls.

METHODS

We included 29,129 women, aged 40 to 74 years, who participated in the Karolinska Mammography Project for Risk Prediction of Breast Cancer (KARMA) between 2011 and 2013 with follow-up until the end of 2017. Nonmammographic factors were collected from questionnaires, mammographic factors were generated from mammograms, and genotypes were determined using the OncoArray or an Illumina custom array. By the use of conditional and regular logistic regression models, we investigated the association between breast cancer risk factors and risk models and false-positive recalls.

RESULTS

Women with a history of benign breast disease, high breast density, masses, microcalcifications, high Tyrer-Cuzick 10-year risk scores, KARMA 2-year risk scores, and polygenic risk scores were more likely to have mammography recalls, including both false-positive and true-positive recalls. Further analyses restricted to women who were recalled found that women with a history of benign breast disease and dense breasts had a similar risk of having false-positive and true-positive recalls, whereas women with masses, microcalcifications, high Tyrer-Cuzick 10-year risk scores, KARMA 2-year risk scores, and polygenic risk scores were more likely to have true-positive recalls than false-positive recalls.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that risk factors associated with false-positive recalls were also likely, or even more likely, to be associated with true-positive recalls in mammography screening.

The utilization of artificial intelligence applications to improve breast cancer detection and prognosis

Breast imaging faces challenges with the current increase in medical imaging requests and lesions that breast screening programs can miss. Solutions to improve these challenges are being sought with the recent advancement and adoption of artificial intelligent (AI)-based applications to enhance workflow efficiency as well as patient-healthcare outcomes. rtificial intelligent tools have been proposed and used to analyze different modes of breast imaging, in most of the published studies, mainly for the detection and classification of breast lesions, breast lesion segmentation, breast density evaluation, and breast cancer risk assessment. This article reviews the background of the Conventional Computer-aided Detection system and AI, AI-based applications in breast medical imaging for the identification, segmentation, and categorization of lesions, breast density and cancer risk evaluation. In addition, the challenges, and limitations of AI-based applications in breast imaging are also discussed.

Assessment of Enhancement Kinetics Improves the Specificity of Abbreviated Breast MRI: Performance in an Enriched Cohort

Objective: To investigate the added value of kinetic information for breast lesion evaluation on abbreviated breast MRI (AB-MRI). Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 207 breast lesions with Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System categories 3, 4, or 5 on AB-MRI in 198 consecutive patients who had breast MRI for screening after breast cancer surgery between January 2017 and December 2019. All lesions were pathologically confirmed or stable on follow-up images for 2 years or more. Kinetic information of the lesions regarding the degree and rate of enhancement on the first post-contrast-enhanced image and the enhancement curve type from two post-contrast-enhanced images were analyzed on a commercially available computer-assisted diagnosis system. The diagnostic performances of AB-MRI with morphological analysis alone and with the addition of kinetic information were compared using the McNemar test. Results: Of 207 lesions, 59 (28.5%) were malignant and 148 (71.5%) were benign. The addition of an enhancement degree of ≥90% to the morphological analysis significantly increased the specificity of AB-MRI (29.7% vs. 52.7%, p < 0.001) without significantly reducing the sensitivity (94.9% vs. 89.8%, p = 0.083) compared to morphological analysis alone. Unnecessary biopsy could have been avoided in 34 benign lesions, although three malignant lesions could have been missed. For detecting invasive cancer, adding an enhancement degree ≥107% to the morphological analysis significantly increased the specificity (26.5% vs. 57.6%, p < 0.001) without significantly decreasing the sensitivity (94.6% vs. 86.5%, p = 0.083). Conclusion: Adding the degree of enhancement on the first post-contrast-enhanced image to the morphological analysis resulted in higher AB-MRI specificity without compromising its sensitivity.

Integrating age, BMI, and serum N-glycans detected by MALDI mass spectrometry to classify suspicious mammogram findings as benign lesions or breast cancer

While mammograms are the standard tool for breast cancer screening, there remains challenges for mammography to effectively distinguish benign lesions from breast cancers, leading to many unnecessary biopsy procedures. A blood-based biomarker could provide a minimally invasive supplemental assay to increase the specificity of breast cancer screening. Serum N-glycosylation alterations have associations with many cancers and several of the clinical characteristics of breast cancer. The current study utilized a high-throughput mass spectrometry workflow to identify serum N-glycans with differences in intensities between patients that had a benign lesion from patients with breast cancer. The overall N-glycan profiles of the two patient groups had no differences, but there were several individual N-glycans with significant differences in intensities between patients with benign lesions and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Many N-glycans had strong associations with age and/or body mass index, but there were several of these associations that differed between the patients with benign lesions and breast cancer. Accordingly, the samples were stratified by the patient's age and body mass index, and N-glycans with significant differences between these subsets were identified. For women aged 50-74 with a body mass index of 18.5-24.9, a model including the intensities of two N-glycans, 1850.666 m/z and 2163.743 m/z, age, and BMI were able to clearly distinguish the breast cancer patients from the patients with benign lesions with an AUROC of 0.899 and an optimal cutoff with 82% sensitivity and 84% specificity. This study indicates that serum N-glycan profiling is a promising approach for providing clarity for breast cancer screening, especially within the subset of healthy weight women in the age group recommended for mammograms.

Chest CT for Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Background: We report the results of our retrospective analysis of the ability of standard chest CT scans to correctly diagnose cancer in the breast. Methods: Four hundred and fifty-three consecutive women with chest CT scans (contrast and non-contrast) preceding mammograms within one year comprise the study population. All chest CT images were reviewed by an experienced fellowship-trained chest radiologist and mammograms by an experienced fellowship-trained mammographer without the benefit of prior or ancillary studies; only four mammographic views were included for analysis. The size, location, and shape of breast masses were documented; on CT, the average Hounsfield units were measured. On both imaging modalities, the presence of lymphadenopathy, architectural distortion, skin thickening, and microcalcifications were recorded. Ultimately, the interpreting radiologist was asked to decide if a biopsy was indicated, and these recommendations were correlated with the patient’s outcome. Findings: Nineteen of four hundred and fifty-three patients had breast cancer at the time of the mammography. Breast masses were the most common finding on chest CT, leading to the recommendation for biopsy. Hounsfield units were the most important feature for discerning benign from malignant masses. CT sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CT for breast cancer detection was 84.21%, 99.3%, and 98.68% compared to 78.95%, 93.78%, and 93.16% for four-view mammography. Chest CT scans with or without contrast had similar outcomes for specificity and accuracy, but sensitivity was slightly less without contrast. Chest CT alone, without the benefit of prior exams and patient recall, correctly diagnosed cancer with a p-value of <0.0001 compared to mammography with the same limitations. Conclusion: Chest CT accurately diagnosed breast cancer with few false positives and negatives and did so without the need for patient recall for additional imaging.

CoroNet: Deep Neural Network-Based End-to-End Training for Breast Cancer Diagnosis

In 2020, according to the publications of both the Global Cancer Observatory (GCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer (BC) represents one of the highest prevalent cancers in women worldwide. Almost 47% of the world’s 100,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer, among females. Moreover, BC prevails among 38.8% of Egyptian women having cancer. Current deep learning developments have shown the common usage of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for analyzing medical images. Unlike the randomly initialized ones, pre-trained natural image database (ImageNet)-based CNN models may become successfully fine-tuned to obtain improved findings. To conduct the automatic detection of BC by the CBIS-DDSM dataset, a CNN model, namely CoroNet, is proposed. It relies on the Xception architecture, which has been pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset and has been fully trained on whole-image BC according to mammograms. The convolutional design method is used in this paper, since it performs better than the other methods. On the prepared dataset, CoroNet was trained and tested. Experiments show that in a four-class classification, it may attain an overall accuracy of 94.92% (benign mass vs. malignant mass) and (benign calcification vs. malignant calcification). CoroNet has a classification accuracy of 88.67% for the two-class cases (calcifications and masses). The paper concluded that there are promising outcomes that could be improved because more training data are available.

Tumor volume doubling time estimated from digital breast tomosynthesis mammograms distinguishes invasive breast cancers from benign lesions

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to determine whether lesion size metrics on consecutive screening mammograms could predict malignant invasive carcinoma versus benign lesion outcome.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed suspicious screen-detected lesions confirmed by biopsy to be invasive breast cancers or benign that were visible on current and in-retrospect prior screening mammograms performed with digital breast tomosynthesis from 2017 to 2020. Four experienced radiologists recorded mammogram dates, breast density, lesion type, lesion diameter, and morphology on current and prior exams. We used logistic regression models to evaluate the association of invasive breast cancer outcome with lesion size metrics such as maximum dimension, average dimension, volume, and tumor volume doubling time (TVDT).

RESULTS

Twenty-eight patients with invasive ductal carcinoma or invasive lobular carcinoma and 40 patients with benign lesions were identified. The mean TVDT was significantly shorter for invasive breast cancers compared to benign lesions (0.84 vs. 2.5 years; p = 0.0025). Patients with a TVDT of less than 1 year were shown to have an odds ratio of invasive cancer of 6.33 (95% confidence interval, 2.18-18.43). Logistic regression adjusted for age, lesion maximum dimension, and lesion volume demonstrated that shorter TVDT was the size variable significantly associated with invasive cancer outcome.

CONCLUSION

Invasive breast cancers detected on current and in-retrospect prior screening mammograms are associated with shorter TVDT compared to benign lesions. If confirmed to be sufficiently predictive of benignity in larger studies, lesions visible on mammograms which in comparison to prior exams have longer TVDTs could potentially avoid additional imaging and/or biopsy.

KEY POINTS

• We propose tumor volume doubling time as a measure to distinguish benign from invasive breast cancer lesions. • Logistic regression results summarized the utility of the odds ratio in retrospective clinical mammography data.

The Effects of Prior Mammography Screening on the Performance of Breast Cancer Detection in Taiwan

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of previous mammography screening on the performance of breast cancer detection. The screened women were divided into first-visit and follow-up groups for breast cancer screening. The positive predictive value (PPV), cancer detection rate (CDR), and recall rate were used to evaluate and analyze the overall screening performance among the two groups. Among them, 10,040 screenings (67.2%) were first visits and 4895 screenings (32.8%) were follow-up visits. The proportion of positive screening results for first-visit participants was higher than that for their follow-up counterparts (9.3% vs. 4.0%). A total of 98 participants (74 first-visit and 24 follow-up visit) were confirmed to have breast cancer. The PPV for positive mammography for women who underwent biopsy confirmation was 28.7% overall, reaching 35.8% for the follow-up visit group and 27.0% for the first-visit group. The CDR was 6.6 per 1000 overall, reaching 7.4 per 1000 for first-visit group and 4.9 per 1000 for the follow-up group. The overall recall rate was 7.9%, reaching 9.7% for the first-visit group and 4.2% for the follow-up group. The PPV is improved and the recall rate is decreased if prior mammography images are available for comparison when conducting mammography screening for breast cancer. By this study, we concluded that prior mammography plays an important role for breast cancer screening, while follow-up mammography may increase the diagnostic rate when compared to the prior mammography. We suggest that the public health authority can encourage subjects to undergo screenings in the same health institute where they regularly visit.

Study protocol comparing the ethical, psychological and socio-economic impact of personalised breast cancer screening to that of standard screening in the "My Personal Breast Screening" (MyPeBS) randomised clinical trial

Background

The MyPeBS study is an ongoing randomised controlled trial testing whether a risk-stratified breast cancer screening strategy is non-inferior, or eventually superior, to standard age-based screening at reducing incidence of stage 2 or more cancers. This large European Commission-funded initiative aims to include 85,000 women aged 40 to 70 years, without prior breast cancer and not previously identified at high risk in six countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Israel, Spain, UK). A specific work package within MyPeBS examines psychological, socio-economic and ethical aspects of this new screening strategy. It compares women’s reported data and outcomes in both trial arms on the following issues: general anxiety, cancer-related worry, understanding of breast cancer screening strategy and information-seeking behaviour, socio-demographic and economic characteristics, quality of life, risk perception, intention to change health-related behaviours, satisfaction with the trial.

Methods

At inclusion, 3-months, 1-year and 4-years, each woman participating in MyPeBS is asked to fill online questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, subgroup comparisons and analysis of variations over time will be performed with appropriate tests to assess differences between arms. Multivariate regression models will allow modelling of different patient reported data and outcomes such as comprehension of the information provided, general anxiety or cancer worry, and information seeking behaviour. In addition, a qualitative study (48 semi-structured interviews conducted in France and in the UK with women randomised in the risk-stratified arm), will help further understand participants’ acceptability and comprehension of the trial, and their experience of risk assessment.

Discussion

Beyond the scientific and medical objectives of this clinical study, it is critical to acknowledge the consequences of such a paradigm shift for women. Indeed, introducing a risk-based screening relying on individual biological differences also implies addressing non-biological differences (e.g. social status or health literacy) from an ethical perspective, to ensure equal access to healthcare. The results of the present study will facilitate making recommendations on implementation at the end of the trial to accompany any potential change in screening strategy.

Trial registration

Study sponsor: UNICANCER. My personalised breast screening (MyPeBS). Clinicaltrials.gov (2018) available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03672331

Contact: Cécile VISSAC SABATIER, PhD, + 33 (0)1 73 79 77 58 ext + 330,142,114,293, contact@mypebs.eu.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09484-6.

Spatially tracked whole-breast three-dimensional ultrasound system toward point-of-care breast cancer screening in high-risk women with dense breasts

BACKGROUND

Mammographic screening has reduced mortality in women through the early detection of breast cancer. However, the sensitivity for breast cancer detection is significantly reduced in women with dense breasts, in addition to being an independent risk factor. Ultrasound (US) has been proven effective in detecting small, early-stage, and invasive cancers in women with dense breasts.

PURPOSE

To develop an alternative, versatile, and cost-effective spatially tracked three-dimensional (3D) US system for whole-breast imaging. This paper describes the design, development, and validation of the spatially tracked 3DUS system, including its components for spatial tracking, multi-image registration and fusion, feasibility for whole-breast 3DUS imaging and multi-planar visualization in tissue-mimicking phantoms, and a proof-of-concept healthy volunteer study.

METHODS

The spatially tracked 3DUS system contains (a) a six-axis manipulator and counterbalanced stabilizer, (b) an in-house quick-release 3DUS scanner, adaptable to any commercially available US system, and removable, allowing for handheld 3DUS acquisition and two-dimensional US imaging, and (c) custom software for 3D tracking, 3DUS reconstruction, visualization, and spatial-based multi-image registration and fusion of 3DUS images for whole-breast imaging. Spatial tracking of the 3D position and orientation of the system and its joints (J_1-6 ) were evaluated in a clinically accessible workspace for bedside point-of-care (POC) imaging. Multi-image registration and fusion of acquired 3DUS images were assessed with a quadrants-based protocol in tissue-mimicking phantoms and the target registration error (TRE) was quantified. Whole-breast 3DUS imaging and multi-planar visualization were evaluated with a tissue-mimicking breast phantom. Feasibility for spatially tracked whole-breast 3DUS imaging was assessed in a proof-of-concept healthy male and female volunteer study.

RESULTS

Mean tracking errors were 0.87 ± 0.52, 0.70 ± 0.46, 0.53 ± 0.48, 0.34 ± 0.32, 0.43 ± 0.28, and 0.78 ± 0.54 mm for joints J_1-6 , respectively. Lookup table (LUT) corrections minimized the error in joints J₁ , J₂ , and J₅ . Compound motions exercising all joints simultaneously resulted in a mean tracking error of 1.08 ± 0.88 mm (N = 20) within the overall workspace for bedside 3DUS imaging. Multi-image registration and fusion of two acquired 3DUS images resulted in a mean TRE of 1.28 ± 0.10 mm. Whole-breast 3DUS imaging and multi-planar visualization in axial, sagittal, and coronal views were demonstrated with the tissue-mimicking breast phantom. The feasibility of the whole-breast 3DUS approach was demonstrated in healthy male and female volunteers. In the male volunteer, the high-resolution whole-breast 3DUS acquisition protocol was optimized without the added complexities of curvature and tissue deformations. With small post-acquisition corrections for motion, whole-breast 3DUS imaging was performed on the healthy female volunteer showing relevant anatomical structures and details.

CONCLUSIONS

Our spatially tracked 3DUS system shows potential utility as an alternative, accurate, and feasible whole-breast approach with the capability for bedside POC imaging. Future work is focused on reducing misregistration errors due to motion and tissue deformations, to develop a robust spatially tracked whole-breast 3DUS acquisition protocol, then exploring its clinical utility for screening high-risk women with dense breasts.

Online or Offline: Does It Matter? A Review of Existing Interpretation Approaches and Their Effect on Screening Mammography Metrics, Patient Satisfaction, and Cost

The ideal practice routine for screening mammography would optimize performance metrics and minimize costs, while also maximizing patient satisfaction. The main approaches to screening mammography interpretation include batch offline, non-batch offline, interrupted online, and uninterrupted online reading, each of which has its own advantages and drawbacks. This article reviews the current literature on approaches to screening mammography interpretation, potential effects of newer technologies, and promising artificial intelligence resources that could improve workflow efficiency in the future.

The economic impact of circulating tumor-tissue modified HPV DNA for the post-treatment surveillance of HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer: A simulation

PURPOSE

Following treatment of HPV-driven oropharynx cancer, surveillance nasopharyngoscopy and imaging are often performed but are expensive and frequently ineffective. A novel plasma circulating tumor-tissue modified viral HPV DNA (TTMV-HPV-DNA) assay accurately detects recurrences. We modeled the cost of the new assay.

METHODS

We designed and validated a partitioned survival model which replicated the results of the RTOG 1016 study and calculated cumulative surveillance costs from the payer's perspective. Two strategies were considered: a standard of routine endoscopy with imaging as needed and an alternative strategy which omitted scopes and imaging but obtained serial TTMV-HPV-DNA samples. No difference in effectiveness (QALY or LY) was assumed in the base case. A 5-year horizon was used, costs were reported in 2020 U.S. dollars discounted by 3%. Seven scenarios tested model assumptions and practice variation. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses assessed parameter uncertainty.

RESULTS

In the base case, at the list TTMV-HPV-DNA price, the cumulative cost of surveillance was $11,674 for the standard strategy and $20,756 for the TTMV-HPV-DNA strategy (+$9082 over 5 years). Probabilistic sensitivity analysis demonstrated the cost difference ranged from $4917-$12,047. The TTMV-HPV-DNA strategy was most likely to be either cost saving or cost-effective if future data demonstrate small improvements in quality or quantity of life (approximately 33 quality-adjusted life-days), if the assay reduces utilization of imaging, and if the periodicity of TTMV-HPV-DNA draws could be reduced from that on clinical trials.

CONCLUSIONS

This data informs providers seeking to design more accurate, accessible, and economical post-treatment surveillance strategies.

A Systematic Literature Review of Health Utility Values in Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND

Health utility values (HUVs) are important inputs to the cost-utility analysis of breast cancer interventions.

PURPOSE

Provide a catalog of breast cancer-related published HUVs across different stages of breast cancer and treatment interventions.

DATA SOURCES

Systematic searches of MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EconLit, and Cochrane databases (2005-2017).

STUDY SELECTION

Studies published in English that reported mean or median HUVs using direct or indirect methods of utility elicitation for breast cancer.

DATA EXTRACTION

Independent reviewers extracted data on a preestablished and piloted form; disagreements were resolved through discussion.

DATA ANALYSIS

Mixed-effects meta-regression using restricted maximum likelihood modeling was conducted for intervention type, stage of breast cancer, and typical clinical and treatment trajectory of breast cancer patients to assess the effect of study characteristics (i.e., sample size, utility elicitation method, and respondent type) on HUVs.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Seventy-nine studies were included in the review. Most articles (n = 52, 66%) derived HUVs using the EQ-5D. Patients with advanced-stage breast cancer (range, 0.08 to 0.82) reported lower HUVs as compared with patients with early-stage breast cancer (range, 0.58 to 0.99). The meta-regression analysis found that undergoing chemotherapy and surgery and radiation, being diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer, and recurrent cancer were associated with lower HUVs. The members of the general public reported lower HUVs as compared with patients.

LIMITATIONS

There was considerable heterogeneity in the study population, health states assessed, and utility elicitation methods.

CONCLUSION

This review provides a catalog of published HUVs related to breast cancer. The substantial heterogeneity in the health utility studies makes it challenging for researchers to choose which HUVs to use in cost-utility analyses for breast cancer interventions.

Depression and Anxiety Are Common Among Patients With Cirrhosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Depression and anxiety can have negative effects on patients and are important to treat. There have been few studies of their prevalence among patients with cirrhosis. We aimed to characterize the prevalence and risk factors for depression and anxiety in a large multi-center cohort of patients with cirrhosis.

METHODS

We conducted a telephone-based survey of patients with cirrhosis at 3 health systems in the United States (a tertiary-care referral center, a safety net system, and a Veterans hospital) from April through December 2018. Of 2871 patients approached, 1021 (35.6%) completed the survey. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the PHQ-9 (range 0-25) and STAI (range 20-80) instruments, with clinically significant values defined as PHQ-9 ≥15 and STAI ≥40. We performed multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with significant depression and anxiety.

RESULTS

The median PHQ-9 score was 7 (25th percentile-75th percentile, 3-12) and the median STAI score was 33 (25th percentile-75th percentile, 23-47); 15.6% of patients had moderately severe to severe depression and 42.6% of patients had high anxiety. In multivariable analyses, self-reported poor health (odds ratio [OR], 4.08; 95% CI, 1.79-9.28), being widowed (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.07-4.05), fear of hepatocellular carcinoma (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.04-3.42), higher household income (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.10-0.95), and Hispanic ethnicity (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.33-0.97) were associated with moderately severe to severe depression. Male sex (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.51-0.98), self-reported poor health (OR, 2.73; 95% CI, 1.73-4.32), and fear of hepatocellular carcinoma (OR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.33-3.78) were associated with high anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly 1 in 6 patients with cirrhosis have moderately severe to severe depression and nearly half have moderate-severe anxiety. Patients with cirrhosis should be evaluated for both of these disorders.

Letter to the editor on article by Dinh et al. Is it ethical to incentivize mammography screening in Medicaid populations? - A policy review and conceptual analysis. By Stamatia Destounis, MD and Sarah Friedewald MD

Letter to the Editor on article by Dinh et al- response to the authors comments on " Is it ethical to incentivize mammography screening in Medicaid populations? - A policy review and conceptual analysis".

Benefits and Risks of Mammography Screening in Women Ages 40 to 49 Years

Breast cancer screening in the United States is complicated by conflicting recommendations from professional and governmental organizations. The benefits and risks of breast cancer screening differ though by age which should influence shared decision-making discussions. Compared to older women, women ages 40 to 49 years have a lower risk of breast cancer, but the types of breast cancer that develop are often more aggressive with a poorer prognosis. Furthermore, younger women have a longer life expectancy and fewer comorbidities. The primary benefits of screening for women in their 40s are a reduction in breast cancer mortality, years of life lost to breast cancer, and morbidity of breast cancer treatment by detecting cancers at an earlier stage. Compared to older women, the risks of breast cancer screening in women ages 40 to 49 years includes more false positive recalls and biopsies as well as transient anxiety. Concerns regarding radiation induced malignancy and overdiagnosis are minimal in this age group. The shorter lead time of breast cancer in women ages 40 to 49 years also favors shorter screening intervals. This information should help inform providers in their shared decision-making discussions with patients.

Uptake and outcomes of small intestinal and urinary tract cancer surveillance in Lynch syndrome

BACKGROUND

Lynch syndrome (LS) is a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome associated with increased risk of multiple cancers. While colorectal cancer surveillance decreases mortality in LS and is recommended by guidelines, there is lack of evidence for the efficacy of surveillance for extra-colonic cancers associated with LS, including small intestinal cancer (SIC) and urinary tract cancer (UTC). Given the limited evidence, guidelines do not consistently recommend surveillance for SIC and UTC, and it remains unclear how often individuals will choose to undergo and follow through with extra-colonic surveillance recommendations.

AIM

To study factors associated with SIC and UTC surveillance uptake and outcomes in LS.

METHODS

This is an IRB-approved retrospective analysis of individuals with LS seen at a tertiary care referral center. Included individuals had a pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2, or EPCAM, or were a confirmed obligate carrier, and had at least one documented visit to our center. Information regarding SIC and UTC surveillance was captured for each individual, and detailed personal and family history was obtained for individuals who had an initial LS management visit in our center’s dedicated high-risk LS clinic between January 1, 2017 and October 29, 2020. During these initial management visits, all patients had in-depth discussions of SIC and UTC surveillance with 1 of 3 providers experienced in LS management to promote informed decision-making about whether to pursue SIC and/or UTC surveillance. Statistical analysis using Pearson’s chi-squared test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test was completed to understand the factors associated with pursuit and completion of SIC and UTC surveillance, and a P value below 0.05 was deemed statistically significant.

RESULTS

Of 317 individuals with LS, 86 (27%) underwent a total of 105 SIC surveillance examinations, with 5 leading to additional work-up and no SICs diagnosed. Additionally, 99 (31%) patients underwent a total of 303 UTC surveillance examinations, with 19 requiring further evaluation and 1 UTC identified. Of 155 individuals who had an initial LS management visit between January 1, 2017 and October 29, 2020, 63 (41%) chose to undergo SIC surveillance and 58 (37%) chose to undergo UTC surveillance. However, only 26 (41%) and 32 (55%) of those who initially chose to undergo SIC or UTC surveillance, respectively, successfully completed their surveillance examinations. Individuals with a pathogenic variant in MSH2 or EPCAM were more likely to initially choose to undergo SIC surveillance (P = 0.034), and older individuals were more likely to complete SIC surveillance (P = 0.007). Choosing to pursue UTC surveillance was more frequent among older individuals (P = 0.018), and females more frequently completed UTC surveillance (P = 0.002). Personal history of cancer and family history of SIC or UTC were not significantly associated with electing nor completing surveillance. Lastly, the provider discussing SIC/UTC surveillance was significantly associated with subsequent surveillance choices.

CONCLUSION

Pursuing and completing SIC/UTC surveillance in LS is influenced by several factors, however broad incorporation in LS management is likely unhelpful due to low yield and frequent false positive results.

Re-evaluation of high-risk breast mammography lesions by target ultrasound and ABUS of breast non-mass-like lesions

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to reevaluate the high-risk breast non-mass-like lesions (NMLs) in mammography (MG) by target ultrasound (US) and Automated breast ultrasonography (ABUS), and to analyze the correlation between different imaging findings and the factors influencing the classification of lesions.

METHODS

A total of 161 patients with 166 breast lesions were recruited in this retrospectively study. All cases were diagnosed as BI-RADS 4 or 5 by MG and as NML on ultrasound. While all NMLs underwent mammography, target US and ABUS before breast surgery or biopsy in the consistent position of breast. The imaging and pathological features of all cases were collected. All lesions were classified according to the lexion of ACR BI-RADS®.

RESULTS

There were significant differences between benign and malignant breast NML in all the features of target US and ABUS. US, especially ABUS, was superior to MG in determining the malignant breast NML. There was a significant difference in the detection rate of calcification between MG and Target US (P < 0.001), and there was a significant difference in the detection rate of structural distortion between ABUS and MG (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Target US, especially ABUS, can significantly improve the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the diagnosis of high-risk NMLs in MG. The features of Target US and ABUS such as blood supply, hyperechogenicity, ductal changes, peripheral changes and coronal features could be employed to predict benign and malignant lesions. The coronal features of ABUS were more sensitive than those of Target HHUS in showing structural abnormalities. Target US was less effective than MG in local micro-calcification.

How to Minimize Patient Anxiety From Screening Mammography

Anxiety has been portrayed by the media and some organizations and societies as one of the harms of mammography. However, one experiences anxiety in multiple different medical tests that are undertaken, including screening examinations; it is not unique to mammography. Some may argue that because this anxiety is transient, the so-called harm is potentially overstated, but for some women the anxiety is significant. Anxiety can increase or decrease the likelihood of obtaining a screening mammogram. There are multiple ways that anxiety associated with screening mammography can be diminished, including before, during, and after the examination. These include simple measures such as patient education, improved communication, being aware of the patient's potential discomfort and addressing it, validating the patient's anxiety as well as providing the patient with positive factual data that can easily be implemented in every breast center. More complex interventions include altering the breast center environment with multisensory stimulation, reorganization of patient flow to minimize wait times, and relaxation techniques including complementary and alternative medicine. In this article we will review the literature on measures that can be taken to minimize anxiety that would maximize the likelihood of a woman obtaining an annual screening mammogram.

Reducing False-Positive Screening MRI Rate in Women with Extremely Dense Breasts Using Prediction Models Based on Data from the DENSE Trial

Background High breast density increases breast cancer risk and lowers mammographic sensitivity. Supplemental MRI screening improves cancer detection but increases the number of false-positive screenings. Thus, methods to distinguish true-positive MRI screening results from false-positive ones are needed. Purpose To build prediction models based on clinical characteristics and MRI findings to reduce the rate of false-positive screening MRI findings in women with extremely dense breasts. Materials and Methods Clinical characteristics and MRI findings in Dutch breast cancer screening participants (age range, 50-75 years) with positive first-round MRI screening results (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System 3, 4, or 5) after a normal screening mammography with extremely dense breasts (Volpara density category 4) were prospectively collected within the randomized controlled Dense Tissue and Early Breast Neoplasm Screening (DENSE) trial from December 2011 through November 2015. In this secondary analysis, prediction models were built using multivariable logistic regression analysis to distinguish true-positive MRI screening findings from false-positive ones. Results Among 454 women (median age, 52 years; interquartile range, 50-57 years) with a positive MRI result in a first supplemental MRI screening round, 79 were diagnosed with breast cancer (true-positive findings), and 375 had false-positive MRI results. The full prediction model (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve [AUC], 0.88; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.92), based on all collected clinical characteristics and MRI findings, could have prevented 45.5% (95% CI: 39.6, 51.5) of false-positive recalls and 21.3% (95% CI: 15.7, 28.3) of benign biopsies without missing any cancers. The model solely based on readily available MRI findings and age had a comparable performance (AUC, 0.84; 95% CI: 0.79, 0.88; P = .15) and could have prevented 35.5% (95% CI: 30.4, 41.1) of false-positive MRI screening results and 13.0% (95% CI: 8.8, 18.6) of benign biopsies. Conclusion Prediction models based on clinical characteristics and MRI findings may be useful to reduce the false-positive first-round screening MRI rate and benign biopsy rate in women with extremely dense breasts. Clinical trial registration no. NCT01315015 © RSNA, 2021 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Imbriaco in this issue.

Using deep learning to assist readers during the arbitration process: a lesion-based retrospective evaluation of breast cancer screening performance

Objectives

To evaluate if artificial intelligence (AI) can discriminate recalled benign from recalled malignant mammographic screening abnormalities to improve screening performance.

Methods

A total of 2257 full-field digital mammography screening examinations, obtained 2011–2013, of women aged 50–69 years which were recalled for further assessment of 295 malignant out of 305 truly malignant lesions and 2289 benign lesions after independent double-reading with arbitration, were included in this retrospective study. A deep learning AI system was used to obtain a score (0–95) for each recalled lesion, representing the likelihood of breast cancer. The sensitivity on the lesion level and the proportion of women without false-positive ratings (non-FPR) resulting under AI were estimated as a function of the classification cutoff and compared to that of human readers.

Results

Using a cutoff of 1, AI decreased the proportion of women with false-positives from 89.9 to 62.0%, non-FPR 11.1% vs. 38.0% (difference 26.9%, 95% confidence interval 25.1–28.8%; p < .001), preventing 30.1% of reader-induced false-positive recalls, while reducing sensitivity from 96.7 to 91.1% (5.6%, 3.1–8.0%) as compared to human reading. The positive predictive value of recall (PPV-1) increased from 12.8 to 16.5% (3.7%, 3.5–4.0%). In women with mass-related lesions (n = 900), the non-FPR was 14.2% for humans vs. 36.7% for AI (22.4%, 19.8–25.3%) at a sensitivity of 98.5% vs. 97.1% (1.5%, 0–3.5%).

Conclusion

The application of AI during consensus conference might especially help readers to reduce false-positive recalls of masses at the expense of a small sensitivity reduction. Prospective studies are needed to further evaluate the screening benefit of AI in practice.

Key Points

• Integrating the use of artificial intelligence in the arbitration process reduces benign recalls and increases the positive predictive value of recall at the expense of some sensitivity loss.

• Application of the artificial intelligence system to aid the decision to recall a woman seems particularly beneficial for masses, where the system reaches comparable sensitivity to that of the readers, but with considerably reduced false-positives.

• About one-fourth of all recalled malignant lesions are not automatically marked by the system such that their evaluation (AI score) must be retrieved manually by the reader. A thorough reading of screening mammograms by readers to identify suspicious lesions therefore remains mandatory.

Disparities Associated With Patient Adherence of Post-Breast-Conserving Surgery Surveillance Imaging Protocols

OBJECTIVE

Currently, national and international breast imaging practices utilize variable postsurgical surveillance protocols without uniform recommendations. Due to the innate differences between screening versus diagnostic mammography from scheduling flexibility to out-of-pocket costs, this creates the opportunity for lapses in patient adherence, which has the potential to impact clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sociodemographic factors and postsurgical surveillance imaging protocols on patient adherence rates.

METHODS

This retrospective study reviewed 3 years of surveillance imaging for all patients having breast-conserving surgery at our institution from January 2011 to December 2016. Follow-up adherence was defined as returning for all of the first 3 years of annual follow-up after breast-conserving surgery (institutional surveillance protocol). Associations between adherence to surveillance imaging and patient sociodemographic characteristics were evaluated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

The study included 1,082 patients after breast surgery, 715 of whom adhered completely to the first 3 years of annual follow-up (66.1%). Black women were 1.36 times less likely to follow up annually compared with White women (95% confidence interval 1.02-1.80). Similarly, patients with Medicare were 1.84 times less likely to follow up annually compared with patients with private insurance (95% confidence interval 1.34-2.51). Women with benign breast disease after breast-conserving surgery were significantly less likely to adhere to annual surveillance than women with breast cancer.

CONCLUSION

Sociodemographic disparities exist as barriers for annual mammography surveillance in patients after breast-conserving surgery.

Using Risk Stratification to Optimize Mammography Screening in Chinese Women

Background

The cost-effectiveness of mammography screening among Chinese women remains contentious. Here, we characterized breast cancer (BC) epidemiology in Hong Kong and evaluated the cost-effectiveness of personalized risk-based screening.

Methods

We used the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Study (a case-control study with 3501 cases and 3610 controls) and Hong Kong Cancer Registry to develop a risk stratification model based on well-documented risk factors. We used the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study to validate the model. We considered risk-based programs with different screening age ranges and risk thresholds under which women were eligible to join if their remaining BC risk at the starting age exceeded the threshold.

Results

The lifetime risk (15-99 years) of BC ranged from 1.8% to 26.6% with a mean of 6.8%. Biennial screening was most cost-effective when the starting age was 44 years, and screening from age 44 to 69 years would reduce breast cancer mortality by 25.4% (95% credible interval [CrI] = 20.5%-29.4%) for all risk strata. If the risk threshold for this screening program was 8.4% (the average remaining BC risk among US women at their recommended starting age of 50 years), the coverage was 25.8%, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was US$18 151 (95% CrI = $10 408-$27 663) per quality-of-life-year (QALY) compared with no screening. The ICER of universal screening was $34 953 (95% CrI = $22 820-$50 268) and $48 303 (95% CrI = $32 210-$68 000) per QALY compared with no screening and risk-based screening with 8.4% threshold, respectively.

Conclusion

Organized BC screening in Chinese women should commence as risk-based programs. Outcome data (e.g., QALY loss because of false-positive mammograms) should be systemically collected for optimizing the risk threshold.

Toward robust mammography-based models for breast cancer risk

Improved breast cancer risk models enable targeted screening strategies that achieve earlier detection and less screening harm than existing guidelines. To bring deep learning risk models to clinical practice, we need to further refine their accuracy, validate them across diverse populations, and demonstrate their potential to improve clinical workflows. We developed Mirai, a mammography-based deep learning model designed to predict risk at multiple timepoints, leverage potentially missing risk factor information, and produce predictions that are consistent across mammography machines. Mirai was trained on a large dataset from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the United States and tested on held-out test sets from MGH, Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH) in Taiwan, obtaining C-indices of 0.76 (95% confidence interval, 0.74 to 0.80), 0.81 (0.79 to 0.82), and 0.79 (0.79 to 0.83), respectively. Mirai obtained significantly higher 5-year ROC AUCs than the Tyrer-Cuzick model ( P < 0.001) and prior deep learning models Hybrid DL ( P < 0.001) and Image-Only DL ( P < 0.001), trained on the same dataset. Mirai more accurately identified high-risk patients than prior methods across all datasets. On the MGH test set, 41.5% (34.4 to 48.5) of patients who would develop cancer within 5 years were identified as high risk, compared with 36.1% (29.1 to 42.9) by Hybrid DL ( P = 0.02) and 22.9% (15.9 to 29.6) by the Tyrer-Cuzick model ( P < 0.001).

Extending Age Ranges in Breast Cancer Screening in Four European Countries: Model Estimations of Harm-to-Benefit Ratios

Simple Summary

Breast cancer screening causes harms and benefits. The balance between the two varies by age. By applying microsimulation modelling, we compared several age ranges of screening in four European countries (the Netherlands, Finland, Italy and Slovenia) and evaluated the respective harm-to-benefit ratios. In all countries, adding screening between the ages 45 and 49 or 70 and 74 resulted in more life-years gained and more breast cancer deaths averted, but at the expense of increases in harms. Adapting the age range of breast cancer screening is an option to improve harm-to-benefit ratios in all four countries. The prioritization of considered harms and benefits affects the interpretation of results.

Abstract

The main benefit of breast cancer (BC) screening is a reduction in mortality from BC. However, screening also causes harms such as overdiagnosis and false-positive results. The balance between benefits and harms varies by age. This study aims to assess how harm-to-benefit ratios of BC screening vary by age in the Netherlands, Finland, Italy and Slovenia. Using microsimulation models, we simulated biennial screening with 100% attendance at varying ages for cohorts of women followed over a lifetime. The number of overdiagnoses, false-positive diagnoses, BC deaths averted and life-years gained (LYG) were calculated per 1000 women. We compared four strategies (50–69, 45–69, 45–74 and 50–74) by calculating four harm-to-benefit ratios, respectively. Compared to the reference strategy 50–69, screening women at 45–74 or 50–74 years would be less beneficial in any of the four countries than screening women at 45–69, which would result in relatively fewer overdiagnoses per death averted or LYG. At the same time, false-positive results per death averted would increase substantially. Adapting the age range of BC screening is an option to improve harm-to-benefit ratios in all four countries. Prioritization of considered harms and benefits affects the interpretation of results.

Are women satisfied with their experience with breast cancer screening? Systematic review of the literature

BACKGROUND

The evaluation of participant experience is an essential part of monitoring the quality of breast cancer screening services. Satisfaction of services can lead to good adherence and hence affect health outcomes.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review to assess how satisfied women were with organized breast cancer screening programs. A literature search in Medline, CINAHL, Embase and PsycINFO from 1965 to October 2019 was performed. Articles reporting a quantitative measure of satisfaction collected via questionnaires in programs using mammography as a screening test were selected. We narratively synthesized the data and used tabulated summaries.

RESULTS

Out of 4310 individual citations, 3099 abstracts were reviewed by two independent researchers, and 126 articles were selected for full-text reading. Finally, 48 studies, published between 1990 and 2018, were included in analysis, reporting 54 surveys in the context of an organized screening program, 37 on satisfaction with screening mammography, 14 on satisfaction with further assessments and 3 with counseling. Most studies reported a high level of satisfaction for both mammography and further assessments. Despite commonly reported temporary pain, discomfort and anxiety, the willingness to be re-screened was very high. Effective information transfer, the staff's interpersonal skills and quick delivery of results correlated with high satisfaction. Only 7 out of 54 surveys used recognized satisfaction instruments or their modifications.

CONCLUSIONS

In general, satisfaction with breast cancer screening is high, but its evaluation is mainly performed using non-validated instruments. Emphasis should be put on effective communication, the staff´s interpersonal skills and quick delivery of results.

Impact of Full-Field Digital Mammography Versus Film-Screen Mammography in Population Screening: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Breast screening programs replaced film mammography with digital mammography, and the effects of this practice shift in population screening on health outcomes can be measured through examination of cancer detection and interval cancer rates.

METHODS

A systematic review and random effects meta-analysis were undertaken. Seven databases were searched for publications that compared film with digital mammography within the same population of asymptomatic women and reported cancer detection and/or interval cancer rates.

RESULTS

The analysis included 24 studies with 16 583 743 screening examinations (10 968 843 film and 5 614 900 digital). The pooled difference in the cancer detection rate showed an increase of 0.51 per 1000 screens (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.19 to 0.83), greater relative increase for ductal carcinoma in situ (25.2%, 95% CI = 17.4% to 33.5%) than invasive (4%, 95% CI = -3% to 13%), and a recall rate increase of 6.95 (95% CI = 3.47 to 10.42) per 1000 screens after the transition from film to digital mammography. Seven studies (80.8% of screens) reported interval cancers: the pooled difference showed no change in the interval cancer rate with -0.02 per 1000 screens (95% CI = -0.06 to 0.03). Restricting analysis to studies at low risk of bias resulted in findings consistent with the overall pooled results for all outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The increase in cancer detection following the practice shift to digital mammography did not translate into a reduction in the interval cancer rate. Recall rates were increased. These results suggest the transition from film to digital mammography did not result in health benefits for screened women. This analysis reinforces the need to carefully evaluate effects of future changes in technology, such as tomosynthesis, to ensure new technology leads to improved health outcomes and beyond technical gains.

Anxiety and Its Association With Screening Mammography

Anxiety is often cited as a risk of screening mammography, and organizations such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force list anxiety as a screening-associated "harm" that should be mitigated. However, the level of mammography-related anxiety risk is difficult to assign clearly for myriad reasons, including the variability of individuals' baseline susceptibility to anxiety, the self-reported nature of subjective anxiety states, and the multiple sources of breast cancer screening-related anxiety. In addition, anxiety measures differ between studies and psychological responses to screening mammography vary across racial and ethnic groups. Nonetheless, breast radiology practices should acknowledge the existence of mammography-associated anxiety and consider strategies to decrease it. These strategies include immediate screening interpretations, patient education efforts, and relaxation techniques.

Mammographic Surveillance in Older Women With Breast Cancer in Canada and the United States: Are We Choosing Wisely?

PURPOSE

Guidelines on mammographic surveillance after breast cancer treatment have been disseminated internationally and incorporated into Choosing Wisely recommendations to reduce low-value care. However, adherence within different countries before their publication is unknown.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Low-value mammography, defined as "short-interval" (within 6 months of radiation) or "high-frequency" (>1 within 12 months of radiation), was compared in Medicare fee-for-service in the United States and Ontario, Canada. Women ≥65 years diagnosed with breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving therapy with a minimum of 24 months of follow-up were included (n = 19,715 United States; 6479 Ontario). Secondary outcomes were patient and physician characteristics associated with discordance.

RESULTS

Short-interval mammography was higher in the United States than in Ontario (55.9% vs 38.0%, P < .001), as was high-frequency (39.6% vs 7.9%, P < .001). In Ontario, younger age (42% ≥85 vs 58% <74 years, P < .001) and chemotherapy (69% vs 51%, P < .001) were associated with short-interval mammography; in the United States, age, earlier diagnosis year, stage, chemotherapy, rurality, and academic center treatment were associated with greater use. Chemotherapy was associated with high-frequency mammography in both countries (13% vs 7% in Ontario, P < .001; 69% vs 51% in United States, P = .02); younger age, earlier diagnosis year, stage, and nonacademic center treatment were associated in the United States. In both countries, radiation oncologists had the highest proportion of providers ordering low-value mammograms.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite significant evidence guiding surveillance mammography recommendations, there are high rates of short-interval mammography in both the United States and Ontario, and high rates of high-frequency mammography in the United States. Further international efforts, such as Choosing Wisely, are needed to reduce low-value mammography.

Cost Effectiveness of Case Detection Strategies for the Early Detection of COPD

OBJECTIVES

The value of early detection and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is currently unknown. We assessed the cost effectiveness of primary care-based case detection strategies for COPD.

METHODS

A previously validated discrete event simulation model of the general population of COPD patients in Canada was used to assess the cost effectiveness of 16 case detection strategies. In these strategies, eligible patients (based on age, smoking history, or symptoms) received the COPD Diagnostic Questionnaire (CDQ) or screening spirometry, at 3- or 5-year intervals, during routine visits to a primary care physician. Newly diagnosed patients received treatment for smoking cessation and guideline-based inhaler pharmacotherapy. Analyses were conducted over a 20-year time horizon from the healthcare payer perspective. Costs are in 2019 Canadian dollars ($). Key treatment parameters were varied in one-way sensitivity analysis.

RESULTS

Compared to no case detection, all 16 case detection scenarios had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) below $50,000/QALY gained. In the most efficient scenario, all patients aged ≥ 40 years received the CDQ at 3-year intervals. This scenario was associated with an incremental cost of $287 and incremental effectiveness of 0.015 QALYs per eligible patient over the 20-year time horizon, resulting in an ICER of $19,632/QALY compared to no case detection. Results were most sensitive to the impact of treatment on the symptoms of newly diagnosed patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary care-based case detection programs for COPD are likely to be cost effective if there is adherence to best-practice recommendations for treatment, which can alleviate symptoms in newly diagnosed patients.