Benchmarks for Abnormal Diagnostic Mammography Interpretations
from 2007 - 2013
by Indication for Exam*
Abnormal Interpretation Rate
| Work-Up of Abnormal Screening Examination | Short-Interval Follow-Up | Evaluation of Breast Problem / No Lump or Lump Unknown | Evaluation of Breast Problem / Palpable Lump | All Diagnostic Examinations† | |
| Abnormal Interpretation Rate (AIR)‡ | 16.90% | 5.10% | 9.10% | 19.00% | 12.50% |
| Readers with 100+ examinations | 157 | 116 | 98 | 87 | 249 |
| Abnormal final interpretations | 21,213 | 2,361 | 6,320 | 5,715 | 49,504 |
| All examinations | 125,610 | 46,639 | 69,153 | 30,157 | 396,263 |
| AIR (Median - 50th percentile) | 15.2 | 4.3 | 8.6 | 17.1 | 11.6 |
| AIR (25th, 75th percentiles) | 10.9, 20.2 | 2.5, 7.1 | 6.2, 13.0 | 14.3, 21.3 | 8.2, 14.8 |
| AIR (10th, 90th percentiles) | 8.3, 27.1 | 1.4, 9.0 | 3.7, 16.5 | 8.2, 26.4 | 5.9, 18.2 |
Smoothed Plots of Abnormal Interpretation Rates Frequency Distributions by indication for exam*
for 396,263 Diagnostic Mammography Exams (Among Radiologists with 100+ Exams), 2007 - 2013
Positive Predictive Value 1 (PPV1)
Note - PPV1 was not calculated for this sample due to limited sample size
Positive Predictive Value 2 (PPV2)
| Work-Up of Abnormal Screening Examination | Short-Interval Follow-Up | Evaluation of Breast Problem / No Lump or Lump Unknown | Evaluation of Breast Problem / Palpable Lump | All Diagnostic Examinations† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPV2|| | 26.70% | 18.00% | 26.10% | 33.70% | 27.40% |
| Readers with 10+ biopsy recommended | 169 | 73 | 96 | 112 | 251 |
| Cancers | 5,725 | 387 | 1,674 | 2,057 | 13,580 |
| Abnormal final interpretations | 21,410 | 2,153 | 6,409 | 6,112 | 49,606 |
| PPV2 (Median - 50th percentile) | 28.6 | 18.2 | 28 | 41.6 | 31.6 |
| PPV2 (25th, 75th percentiles) | 21.2, 40.3 | 12.0, 25.0 | 20.0, 40.0 | 32.4, 50.0 | 22.8, 40.3 |
| PPV2 (10th, 90th percentiles) | 16.7, 48.6 | 7.1, 33.3 | 15.8, 54.2 | 21.0, 61.9 | 17.1, 48.5 |
Smoothed Plots of PPV2 Frequency Distributions BY INDICATION FOR EXAM*
for 49,606 Diagnostic Mammography Exams with Abnormal Results for Which Biopsy was Recommended (Among Radiologists with 10+ Biopsies Recommended), 2007 - 2013
Positive Predictive Value 3 (PPV3)
| Work-Up of Abnormal Screening Examination | Short-Interval Follow-Up | Evaluation of Breast Problem / No Lump or Lump Unknown | Evaluation of Breast Problem / Palpable Lump | All Diagnostic Examinations† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPV3# | 29.00% | 21.50% | 30.30% | 36.30% | 30.30% |
| Readers with 10+ biopsy performed | 162 | 61 | 77 | 98 | 202 |
| Cancers | 5,526 | 354 | 1,548 | 1,878 | 10,429 |
| Abnormal final interpretations, with known biopsy | 19,088 | 1,645 | 5,117 | 5,175 | 34,475 |
| PPV3 (Median - 50th percentile) | 32.6 | 21.1 | 31.3 | 46.9 | 36.6 |
| PPV3 (25th, 75th percentiles) | 23.5, 44.8 | 16.2, 30.0 | 25.0, 43.5 | 34.8, 58.3 | 26.1, 46.2 |
| PPV3 (10th, 90th percentiles) | 19.2, 50.0 | 10.0, 40.0 | 20.0, 61.7 | 22.3, 68.8 | 20.2, 56.1 |
Smoothed Plots of PPV3 Frequency Distributions BY INDICATION FOR EXAM*
for 34,475 Diagnostic Mammography Exams with Abnormal Results for Which Biopsy was Recommended and Performed (Among Radiologists with 10+ Biopsies Performed), 2007 - 2013
Footnotes:
Numbers are frequencies unless otherwise indicated.
The first non-zero assessment within 90 days was used as the final assessment for analysis.
* Includes examinations for radiologists who interpreted at least 10 cases in a given column; excludes examinations for which the radiologist is unknown.
† The number of radiologists in this column does not equal the sum of radiologists in the other columns. A given radiologist may contribute to each of the preceding columns, but may contribute to this column only once.
‡ Abnormal interpretation rate = the percentage of examinations with an abnormal final interpretation (BI-RADS category 4 or 5; Note: 0 or 3 with a recommendation for biopsy was recoded as 4).
|| PPV2 = the percentage of examinations with an abnormal final interpretation that result in a tissue diagnosis of cancer within 1 year.
§ PPV3 = the percentage of examinations with an abnormal final interpretation, where it is known that a biopsy was performed as a result of the abnormal diagnostic examination, that result in a tissue diagnosis of cancer within 1 year. (Excludes Chicago)
+ For figures, An overlaid solid line indicates the 50th percentile (median), paired dashed lines indicate the 25th and 75th percentiles, and paired dotted lines indicate the 10th and 90th percentiles. A single dashed line below the median indicates the 10th and 25th percentiles are the same and a single dashed line above the median indicates the 75th and 90th percentiles are the same.
Table & Figures last updated Mar 26, 2017.
The following must be cited when reproducing this data:
"The Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium and its data collection and sharing activities are funded by the National Cancer Institute (P01CA154292). Downloaded xx/xx/xxxx from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium Web site - http://www.bcsc-research.org/."