ASBS: More False Negatives After Breast Augmentation

False negative mammography rate higher in women who have had augmentation mammoplasty

FRIDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- The false negative mammography rate is significantly higher in women who have undergone augmentation mammoplasty compared to non-augmented women, although survival is similar in the two groups of women, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, held from April 27 to May 1 in Washington, D.C.

Jessica Rayhanabad, M.D., from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues reviewed a prospective breast cancer database comprising 4,810 non-augmented women and 195 women who had previously undergone augmentation mammoplasty to determine whether the augmented patients present with more advanced disease and have a worse prognosis. Comparison was based on numerous factors, including palpability, tumor size, nuclear grade, percent in situ, nodal positivity, lymphovascular invasion, and breast cancer-specific survival.

The investigators found that there was a false negative rate of 36 percent in augmented patients, indicating a failure to reveal abnormality in 43 of 121 augmented patients with palpable lesions who underwent pre-biopsy mammography. No significant differences were seen with respect to tumor size, nuclear grade, and recurrence-free and overall survival between the non-augmented and augmented groups.

"The false negative mammography rate is higher in augmented women than reported in the general population (15 percent). This is probably due to lower quality mammography secondary to the implant," the authors write. "In spite of this, distant recurrence, and breast cancer-specific and overall survival in augmented women were not statistically different from the non-augmented population."

Press Release/Abstract No. 1654
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