Breast cancer false-positives have impact

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 20 (UPI) -- Women who had an abnormal mammography screen later confirmed to be false-positive were negatively influenced, according to a Danish study.

Women coping with the strain of being mistakenly diagnosed with breast cancer have not been adequately studied in the past, said co-author Dr. John Brodersen, of the University of Copenhagen.

"We know that having a false alarm at a breast cancer screening causes significant negative psychological harm," Brodersen said in a statement. "Unfortunately, previous studies of the long-term psychological consequences of these false alarms have used inadequate measures."

Brodersen focused on six psychosocial dimensions: anxiety, behavioral impact, sense of dejection, impact on sleep, breast examination and sexuality and found a false-positive negatively influenced all six categories.

One in four women following the European Union-recommended biannual breast cancer screening program over a 20-year period will experience a false-positive screening mammogram according to Brodersen.

Women should be better informed both before breast cancer screening and during the screening process about the implications of a false-positive result, as well as the benefits of early detection of breast cancer, according to the findings published in Value in Health.