CHICAGO — Computer-assisted detection used in most U.S. mammograms adds no benefit to breast cancer screening while substantially increasing costs, a large study suggests.
Some previous research said computer technology could serve almost as a second set of eyes for doctors. The technique uses special software to highlight suspicious-looking areas on mammogram images that radiologists who interpret the scans might have missed.
Some of these earlier studies involved adding computer detection to mammograms using outdated film X-rays, not more advanced digital X-rays now used in most mammograms nationwide, the study authors said. Now computer-assisted detection is a standard part of digital mammogram machines.
The study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine involved nearly 324,000 women who had digital mammograms from 2003 to 2009. Researchers compared cancer detection rates after scans with and without computer-assisted detection. About 20 percent of scans did not include the technology.
The overall detection rate, about four in 1,000 women, was similar in both groups.
