Impact of hormone replacement therapy on screening mammography reading

Purpose. To assess difficulties in reading screening mammographies related to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the setting of a breast cancer scre ening program. Disagreement between two readers is used as the assessment c riterion. Population and methods: The study population consisted of all women partici pating in the ADEMAS breast cancer screening program in Bas-Rhin (France). Agreement between the two radiologists was considered when the same global conclusion (call-back or not of the women for further examination) or the s ame conclusion for each of the nine possible lesions was observed. Results. HRT is associated with a higher risk of disagreement between the t wo radiologists on global conclusion and on opacities. Conversely, disagree ment risk is lowered for microcalcifications (whether benign or malignant) for HRT users. Conclusion. HRT is associated with a higher risk of disagreement on global conclusion. This has an impact on whether the women should be called-back o r not according to reading of breast cancer screening program mammographies .