JABFM
HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Rapid Responses: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Aiello, E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Taplin, S. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Aiello, E. J.
Right arrow Articles by Taplin, S. H.
The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice 17:408-415 (2004)
© 2004 American Board of Family Practice

Rate of Breast Cancer Diagnoses among Postmenopausal Women with Self-Reported Breast Symptoms

Erin J. Aiello, MPH, Diana S. M. Buist, PhD, MPH, Emily White, PhD, Deborah Seger and Stephen H. Taplin, MD, MPH*

Group Health Cooperative, Center for Health Studies (EJA, DSMB, DS, SHT), Seattle
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington (DSMB, EW), Seattle
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Cancer Prevention Program (EW), Seattle

Correspondence: Address correspondence to Erin J. Aiello, Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies, 1730 Minor Avenue, Suite 1600, Seattle, WA 98101 (e-mail: aiello.e{at}ghc.org)

Background: Breast cancer rates in women with multiple breast symptoms have not been well described.

Methods: We examined the association between self-reported symptoms (lump, nipple discharge, pain, other) and breast cancer risk for screening and diagnostic mammograms in 57,681 women. Subanalyses evaluated risk among women with no prior mammograms, new symptoms, and repeated symptoms. One thousand, three hundred and eighty-nine women were diagnosed with cancer within 12 months of their mammograms. We calculated the breast cancer rate for each symptom and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for breast cancer among symptomatic women compared with asymptomatic women.

Results: Women reporting a lump had an increased odds of breast cancer compared with asymptomatic women (OR for diagnostic examination = 2.8, 95% CI = 2.3 to 3.4; OR for screening examination = 3.6, 95% CI = 2.6 to 5.0). No other symptoms were associated with breast cancer after controlling for a reported lump. A new lump at a diagnostic examination was significantly predictive of cancer among women with no prior mammograms (OR = 12.2, 95% CI = 2.8 to 53.5); reporting symptoms at 2 successive exams had little effect on breast cancer risk (OR for lump = 1.2, 95% CI = 0.6 to 2.5).

Conclusions: Having a lump is the most predictive symptom of breast cancer whether it is reported at a screening or diagnostic examination or in conjunction with other symptoms.






HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2004 by the American Board of Family Medicine.