July 28th, 2011

Los Angeles Times reports:

Researchers reported Wednesday that conducting breast cancer screening with computer-aided detection technology, or CAD, does not help doctors find invasive tumors, causing many women to undergo additional testing without reason — and possibly accomplishing little to improve patient outcomes.

Radiologists found tumors at a similar stage and size whether or not they used the software, which analyzes mammograms and points out problem spots for radiologists to study more closely.

In fact, the paper, which analyzed 1.6 million mammograms taken at 90 mammography facilities in seven states between 1998 and 2006, found that using CAD “typically increased” the rate of false positive readings from 8.1% before CAD to 8.6% after computer-aided detection technology was installed, according to a news release.  

CAD is used on three out of four breast cancer screenings performed on American women, the study reported. Medicare spends more than $30 million each year to pay for use of the technology, the authors added.

For the rest of the story, read the Los Angeles Times