Cancer yield of mammography for isolated mastalgia is just 0.6%

Mammography for isolated breast pain with normal clinical exam found cancer in 0.6% (6 per 1,000) of 6,670 women—lower than the UK screening rate of 0.7%. Avoiding this low-yield imaging could reduce unnecessary costs and clinic congestion.

• Cancer detection rate rose to 1.4% in women over 70.
• Avoiding mastalgia imaging could save over $954,000 in 5 years for one health system.
• Only 70 of 6,670 mammograms (1%) prompted further assessment.

Automated summary

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