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International Workshop on Breast Imaging

IWDM 2016: Breast Imaging pp 540–547Cite as

Should We Adjust Visually Assessed Mammographic Density for Observer Variability?

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNIP,volume 9699))

Abstract

This study aimed to determine whether correcting for observer variability alters estimations of breast cancer risk associated with mammographic density. A case control design examined the relationship between mammographic density, measured by visual analogue scales (VAS), and the risk of breast cancer after correcting for observer variability. Mammographic density was assessed by two observers and average scores (V2) were adjusted to correct for observer variability (V2ad). Two case-control sets were identified: (i) breast cancer detected during screening at entry and (ii) breast cancer detected subsequently. Cases were matched to three controls. In the first case-control set the odds ratio for breast cancer was 4.6 (95 %CI 2.8–7.5) for the highest compared to the lowest quintile of V2, and was attenuated for V2ad (OR 3.1, 95 %CI 1.9–4.8). Similar findings were observed for the second case-control set. Not adjusting for observer variability may lead to an overestimate of the risk of breast cancer.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Genesis Prevention Appeal for their funding of the PROCAS study. We would like to thank the women who agreed to take part in the study and the study staff for recruitment and data collection. This paper presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research programme (reference number RP-PG-0707-10031: “Improvement in risk prediction, early detection and prevention of breast cancer”). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Imaging Sciences, Institute of Population Health, University of Manchester, Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK

    Elaine F. Harkness & Susan M. Astley

  2. Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Centre and Nightingale Breast Screening Centre, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Trust, Wythenshawe, Manchester, M23 9LT, UK

    Elaine F. Harkness, Mary Wilson, Ursula Beetles, Soujanya Gadde, Yit Y. Lim, Anthony Howell & D. Gareth Evans

  3. The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Wythenshawe, Manchester, M23 9LT, UK

    Elaine F. Harkness & Susan M. Astley

  4. Arthritis Research UK Centre for Epidemiology, Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Institute of Inflammation and Repair, Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK

    Jamie C. Sergeant

  5. NIHR Manchester Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK

    Jamie C. Sergeant

  6. The Christie NHS Foundation, Withington, Manchester, M20 4BX, UK

    Anthony Howell

  7. Genomic Medicine, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester and Central Manchester Foundation Trust, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK

    D. Gareth Evans

Authors
  1. Elaine F. Harkness
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  2. Jamie C. Sergeant
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  3. Mary Wilson
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  4. Ursula Beetles
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  5. Soujanya Gadde
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  6. Yit Y. Lim
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  7. Anthony Howell
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  8. D. Gareth Evans
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  9. Susan M. Astley
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elaine F. Harkness .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lund Univ. and Skåne University Hospital, Sweden

    Anders Tingberg

  2. Lund Univ. and Unilabs, Malmö, Sweden

    Kristina Lång

  3. Lund Univ. and Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden

    Pontus Timberg

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Harkness, E.F. et al. (2016). Should We Adjust Visually Assessed Mammographic Density for Observer Variability?. In: Tingberg, A., Lång, K., Timberg, P. (eds) Breast Imaging. IWDM 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9699. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41546-8_68

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41546-8_68

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-41545-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-41546-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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