What Are Some of the Limitations of Screening Mammograms?
Finding cancer does not always mean saving lives. Even though mammography can detect tumors that cannot be felt, finding a small tumor does not always mean that a woman’s life will be saved. Mammography may not help a woman with a fast-growing or aggressive cancer that has already spread to other parts of her body before being detected. False negatives—False negatives occur when mammograms appear normal even though breast cancer is present. Overall, mammograms miss up to 20 percent of the breast cancers that are present at the time of screening. False negatives occur more often in younger women than in older women because the dense breasts of younger women make breast cancers more difficult to detect in mammograms. False positives—False positives occur when mammograms are read by a radiologist as abnormal, but no cancer is actually present. All abnormal mammograms should be followed up with additional testing (a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound, and/or biopsy) to determine if cancer is
Related Questions
- Why are my diagnostic mammogram claims being denied for a FDA certification number? Isn the certification number used only for "screening" mammograms?
- The guidelines recommend MRI in addition to, not instead of, mammography. Why do women who get MRI screening still need to have annual mammograms?
- What are the limitations of screening mammography?
