APPENDIX 4

Glossary

Abnormal Recall Rate
proportion of screening mammography examinations determined to require further diagnostic assessment (i.e. called 'abnormal').

 

 

 

 

Biopsy Yield Ratio
proportion of cases women undergoing biopsy that resulted in a diagnosis of breast cancer.

    B_b number of women with benign diagnosis on screen-initiated biopsy

    M_b number of women found to have breast cancer on screen-initiated biopsy

    Biopsy yield ratio, sometimes referred to as Positive Predictive Value of Biopsy, can also be expressed as Malignant:Benign Ratio or Benign:Malignant Ratio

Cancer
includes malignant and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast.

Cancer detection rate
proportion of screened women found to have breast cancer upon further investigation of an 'abnormal' screening result.

 

 

 

 

Confidence interval
a 95% confidence interval for a parameter is an interval computed from sample data by a method that has 95% probability of producing an interval containing the true value of the parameter.

Core biopsy
removal of a cylindrical sample of breast tissue under a local or general anaesthetic through a needle for microscopic examination.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
a non-invasive tumour of the breast, arising from cells that involve only the lining of a breast duct. The cells have not spread outside the duct to other tissues in the breast.

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy
a technique used to differentiate cystic from solid lesions in the breast. A needle is inserted into the lesion and material drawn out using a syringe. If the material is solid, it can be stained and the cells examined in a laboratory to determine whether or not they are benign or malignant.

Interval cancer
any invasive breast cancer diagnosed in the interval following a 'normal' screening result and before the next scheduled screening examination.

Invasive cancer
cancer cells invading beyond the basement membrane of the milk duct or lobule.

Open biopsy
surgical removal of a breast mass under local anaesthesia for subsequent microscopic examination by a pathologist.

Positive predictive value (PPV)
proportion of 'abnormal' cases with completed follow up found to have breast cancer after diagnostic work up.

 

 

 

Post-screen cancer
breast cancer detected outside of the program after a 'negative' screen, including breast cancers detected after a program-initiated work up that did not reveal any cancer.

 

 

The rate per woman-year of being diagnosed with post-screen cancer. If a woman is at risk over several years, then she would contribute a count in the denominator for each year or fraction of a year in the period of interest.

Rescreening
subsequent screening according to policy following initial screening under the program. This includes women who miss a scheduled round of screening.

Screen-detected cancer
cancer detected as a result of a positive test with histologic confirmation attributed to screening findings at the program.

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