The impact of a false-positive result from breast cancer mammography: a qualitative pilot study

Abstract

Population mammographic screening to detect asymptomatic breast cancer for women over 40 years of age is common in developed countries, but remains controversial. Risks include anxiety and unnecessary investigations. Up to 1 000 000 false positives occur annually among 40- to 50-year-old American women. False positive test results increase anxiety, refusal to take future screening, and difficulty with accepting that the ‘all clear’ result really is correct. Most studies assessing the impact of false positive results in screening have been on Caucasian, African-American, Latina, and, rarely, Chinese women. We found no reports in the literature on the effects of false positive mammography results among Hong Kong Chinese women. Using qualitative methods, we studied the impact of false positive test results on these women.