Is prognosis poor for breast cancer diagnosed after negative screening mammography?

Bottom Line: A study of mammography data for more than 300,000 women suggests cases of breast cancer diagnosed after a negative screening mammogram were more likely to be associated with poor prognosis than those cancers diagnosed after a positive screening mammogram.

Why The Research Is Interesting: The rate of breast cancer after negative mammography results is small but the likelihood these cases can be associated with poor prognosis highlights the need for early detection.

Authors: Anne Marie McCarthy, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and coauthors

Study Design: This was an observational study. Researchers were not intervening for purposes of the study and they cannot control natural differences that could explain study findings.

To Learn More: The full study is available on the For The Media website.

(doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.00)

Editor's Note: The article contains funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

###