MAMMOGRAPHIC SIGNS OF POTENTIAL RELEVANCE TO BREAST-CANCER RISK - THEAGREEMENT OF RADIOLOGISTS CLASSIFICATION

We have assessed the agreement of radiologists who quantitatively esti mated the extent of various mammographic features of the breast, These features are of potential relevance to the estimation of the future r isk of developing breast cancer, After preparation, in which various m ammographic appearances and their classification were discussed and ag reed upon, two radiologists, experienced in mammography, independently estimated the extent of various types of radiological density in 120 sets of mammograms, each comprised of two mediolateral and two cranioc audal views, The results showed a high level of agreement between the two radiologists in the classification of total mammographic densities (r = 0.89), For classification of specific types of density, agreemen t was best for homogeneous densities (r = 0.79), more intermediate for nodular densities (r = 0.71) and worst for linear densities (r = 0.48 ), These results show that radiologists can, with suitable preparation , identify total breast density, a mammographic sign relevant to a wom an's risk of later developing breast cancer, with a high degree of agr eement.