Breast Cancer False Positives: How to Decrease Them

Breast cancer is a huge problem in the health sector. Technology has not solved this problem. Annual screening and self-examination are the best methods to detect cancer early. Cancer screening has become a hot topic and is sometimes controversial, but what remains is that early diagnosis and treatment is beneficial to the patient.

So why do false positives occur? This is a question many ask, especially since we live in the age of technology. This is because the technology used in screening is out of date. Mammograms pick up both benign and malignant tumors, it is up to the doctor to figure out which is which.

While a PET scan is more detailed in the images it produces thus offering better clarity on whether the tumor is malignant or not.

Most women start screening for breast cancer at the age 40. Of these women, most are at the risk of developing breast cancer. These chances are increased if they are screened later on after 40.

Biopsies remain the best way to tell if a mass is cancerous or not. It is an invasive procedure but it yields results. It has been revealed that screening may lead to overdiagnosis and treatment where it is not needed.

The problem with biopsies is that it is costly, traumatic to the patient and there is the risk of spreading the cancer. Biopsies help identify large amounts of hormones produced, proteins in the cell surface and oncogenes.

It is estimated that more mammograms are conducted each year in the United States than biopsies. PET Scan technology can really decrease the number of negative biopsies and provide more conclusive results to the patient.

Conclusive tests need to be done to produce accurate results to avoid false positives. This will relieve the patient of unnecessary fear and worry.