Outcomes of recommendations for breast biopsies in women receiving mammograms from a county health van

Objective. To describe the outcomes of breast biopsy recommendations for women screened through a mobile mammography van. Methods. Data on all women screened through the Mobile Mammography Program in Suffolk County, Long Island, NY, from 1990 to 1994 were analyzed to determine biopsy recommendation rates, biopsy rates, positive biopsy rates, and cancer detection rates. Follow-up information was obtained from the women's physicians. Results. The breast cancer detection rate for women screened through the Mobile Mammography Program averaged 0.33% over a five-year period. The biopsy recommendation rate based on abnormal mammograms remained stable, at about 1% to 2%, over a five-year period, as did the rate of positive biopsies among women having biopsies (36.8% to 44.4%). For women ages 50 and older, the cancer rate in 1994 was 0.36%, while for women younger than age 50, the cancer rate was 0.25% (0.32% for all ages). Conclusions. These findings show that a breast cancer screening program using a mobile van can have comparable cancer detection rates to national figures and a fairly stable biopsy recommendation rate from which follow-up resource needs can be estimated.