TITLE:
Is Repetition of the Contralateral Mammogram of Patients Referred for Unilateral Findings from the Dutch Breast Cancer Screening Necessary?
AUTHORS:
Christian Johannes Guillaume Castro, Robert Jan Schipper, Lori Maria van Roozendaal, Mireille van Goethem, Marc Bernardus Irene Lobbes, Marjolein Louisa Smidt
KEYWORDS:
Breast Neoplasms; Breast Cancer Screening; Conventional Mammography
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Breast Cancer Research,
Vol.2 No.4,
September
23,
2013
ABSTRACT: Objective: To determine the benefit of contralateral
mammogram repetition in patients referred from the Dutch breast cancer
screening program for unilateral findings. Material
and Methods: 395 patients were referred from screening to our institution for
unilateral findings between October 2009 and August 2011. In all patients a
bilateral mammogram was repeated and analyzed by experienced breast
radiologists. Anonymised
data concerning the date of registration of the screening mammogram, the
referred side (left/right or bilateral), age, screening’s BI-RADS
classification, breast density, biopsy results and follow-up were collected. Results: Of the 395 patients referred for a
suspicious unilateral finding, a malignancy on the referred breast was
confirmed in 144 patients. In addition, a malignancy in the contralateral breast was diagnosed in six patients (1.5%). One of these six contralateral malignancies was occult on
screening mammogram, but depicted on institutional mammogram only. The
remaining five cases were detected in a blinded retrospective analysis by an
experienced radiologist and were considered overlooked by the screening
radiologists. During follow-up (mean 27.8 months), no contralateral
malignancies were detected. Conclusion: Repetition of the two-view mammogram of
the contralateral side in patients referred with a unilateral suspicious
finding seems unnecessary.