Saturday, December 5, 2009

Mammography and the PSA Test

One criticism of both mammography and the PSA test (for prostate cancer) has been that both tests produce false positives. What should be remembered is that positive results from either mammography or the PSA test does not lead immediately to radiation, chemotherapy or surgery.

For mammography, the American College of Radiography has a uniform way for radiologists to describe mammogram findings and suggest a follow-up plan.
Notice that levels 4-6 require a biopsy after a positive test. The same is true for the PSA test. Each is part of a process and the presence of cancer is still established with a biopsy even if the initial screening test is positive.

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