Healthy living
Body matters
Computers may help read mammograms
When it comes to reading breast x-rays, it seems a computer can do the job just as well as a medical expert
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that one trained expert assisted by special software known as computer-aided detection (CAD) was just as effective in finding breast cancer as the two medical experts currently required to read mammograms in the UK.
Last year Gordon Brown pledged to extend the national breast screening programme for women. Currently, women aged 50–70 are invited for regular mammograms – x-rays of the breast that can help detect cancerous tissue. This age bracket will be widened on either side to eventually include women as young as 47 up to 73. Researchers are hoping that the use of CAD could help free up trained staff to help manage the extra work load.
The study involved 28,000 women who were given mammograms in both the conventional way using two experts and then using a single expert plus CAD. The researchers found that the computer-assisted reading was just as safe and effective as the interpretation by two trained radiologists.
‘The study has huge significance,’ said Professor Fiona Gilbert of the University of Aberdeen and lead author of the study. ‘In the UK, it will mean that the same number of experts can read more mammograms in a given period of time. We want to offer screening to a wider age group, those 47-50 years old and 70-73 years old, an increase of around 30 per cent. The national programme screens over 1.7 million women each year. This computer technology will help us achieve that.’
Gilbert also points out that in countries where it is standard practice to only use one expert, CAD could significantly improve breast cancer detection.
‘Earlier studies had conflicting results about the success of the computer-aided readings,’ said Professor Stephen Duffy, Cancer Research UK’s professor of cancer screening. ‘But this large study means we can now say for certain that this system is as good at detecting breast cancer as the one currently used as standard practice.’
Duffy is concerned that some women miss screenings because of over-stretched NHS facilities.
‘In some areas women do not get their screening invitations as regularly as they should - every three years - because there are simply not enough experts to go round. The CAD system would free up radiologists to work on more mammograms, as only one instead of two would be required to read each X-ray.’
Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK’s director of information, said: ‘This is good news for women – particularly for those who live in areas where invitations for screening have been late in arriving.’
Maria Leadbeater, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Breast Cancer Care welcomes the study but argues that great care must be taken when making changes to the screening process. ‘If this system is to be implemented in clinical practice, it would have to be closely monitored to ensure that the current quality of service provided by two human readers is not impaired.
‘We know from supporting women with breast cancer or breast health concerns that delays in access to routine screening can cause great anxiety. Any measures which could reduce these delays would be very welcome.’
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Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
