Breast screen new South wales generally demonstrates good radiologic viewing conditions

Number of mammography cases read per year is a strong predictor of sensitivity

Early detection of breast cancers affects the 5-year recurrence rates and treatment options for diagnosed patients, and consequently, many countries have instituted nationwide screening programs. This study compared the performance of expert radiologists from Australia and the United States in detection of breast cancer. Forty-one radiologists, 21 from Australia and 20 from the United States, reviewed 30 mammographic cases containing two-view mammograms. Twenty cases had abnormal findings and 10 cases had normal findings. Radiologists were asked to locate malignancies and assign a level of confidence. A jackknife free-response receiver operating characteristic, figure of merit (JAFROC, FOM), inferred receiver operating characteristic, area under curve (ROC, AUC), specificity, sensitivity, and location sensitivity were calculated using Ziltron software and JAFROC v4.1. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the performance of Australian and U.S. radiologists. The results showed that when experience and the number of mammograms read per year were taken into account, the Australian radiologists sampled showed significantly higher sensitivity and location sensitivity ([Formula: see text]). JAFROC (FOM) and inferred ROC (AUC) analysis showed no difference between the overall performance of the two countries. ROC (AUC) and location sensitivity were higher for the Australian radiologists who read the most cases per year.

Mammography test sets: reading location and prior images do not affect group performance

AIM

To examine how the location where reading takes place and the availability of prior images can affect performance in breast test-set reading.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Under optimized viewing conditions, 10 expert screen readers each interpreted a reader-specific set of images containing 200 mammographic cases. Readers, randomly divided into two groups read images under one of two pairs of conditions: clinical read with prior images and laboratory read with prior images; laboratory read with prior images and laboratory read without prior images. Region-of-interest (ROI) figure-of-merit (FOM) was analysed using JAFROC software. Breast side-specific sensitivity and specificity were tested using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank tests. Agreement between pairs of readings was measured using Kendall's coefficient of concordance.

RESULTS

Group performances between test-set readings demonstrated similar ROI FOMs, sensitivity and specificity median values, and acceptable levels of agreement between pairs of readings were shown (W = 0.75-0.79, p < 0.001) for both pairs of reading conditions. On an individual reader level, two readers demonstrated significant decreases (p < 0.05) in ROI FOMs when prior images were unavailable. Reading location had an inconsistent impact on individual performance.

CONCLUSION

Reading location and availability of prior images did not significantly alter group performance.