The evaluation of false negative mammography from malignant and benign breast lesions

Preoperative mammograms from 395 breast cancers and 132 benign breast lesions were enrolled for this study. The false-negative (FN) rate for breast cancers from preoperative reading was 9.6% with 38 breast cancers missed on mammograms. The statistically significant differences occurred between true-positive (TP) and FN cancers for younger age (P<.025), smaller lesion size (P<.001), denser breast (P<.05), deep retroglandular location (P<.001). None of the FN cancers exhibited calcifications. The FN rate for mammography for benign breast lesions from preoperative reading was 18.9% with 25 lesions misdiagnosed. The statistically significant difference between benign TP and FN lesions occurred for central and subareolar location (P<.025). Exploration of possible factors and imaging features in FN mammograms can help reduce the FN rate for mammography. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.