Psychosocial consequences of false-positive results in screening mammography

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the psychosocial impact of benign breast biopsies on Lebanese women after a screening mammography and the effect of these biopsies on patients’ attitudes toward subsequent screening. METHODS: In this retrospective study (January 2005 till April 2011), 109 consecutive patients with a history of breast biopsy without cancer were asked to answer a phone questionnaire. The response rate was 91.7% (100 women accepted to participate). A questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics, biopsy characteristics, and patients’ attitudes as measured by the negative Psychosocial Consequences Questionnaire (PCQ) and other independent questions was filled by phone call by one interviewer. RESULTS: The negative PCQ score was low for most women (only 9% have a negative PCQ score ≥18/36) and is statistically dependent on the result of the last mammography (P = 0.01) and the number of previous benign breast biopsies (P = 0.01). A total of 10% of women increased their medical visits after this biopsy, 8% were treated for psychiatric problems after this biopsy, and 19% self-examine their breasts more than once per week. The benign breast biopsy experience increases the willingness to adhere to the screening mammography in 71% of the patients, this reported adherence depends positively on the score of the negative PCQ (P = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: The negative psychosocial effect of the biopsy is minimal in general and is positively correlated to the adherence to future mammographies. Interventions are necessary to decrease the anxiety in most susceptible women and to raise the awareness of women at risk of nonadherence to the screening mammography.