Diagnostic Accuracy of Breast Medical Tactile Examiners (MTEs): A Prospective Pilot Study.
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ABSTRACT: Background
The usefulness of clinical breast examination (CBE) in general and in breast cancer screening programs has been a matter of debate. This study investigated whether adding vision-impaired medical tactile examiners (MTEs) improves the predictiveness of CBE for suspicious lesions and analyzed the feasibility and acceptability of this approach.Methods
The prospective study included 104 patients. Physicians and MTEs performed CBEs, and mammography and ultrasound results were used as the gold standard. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated and logistic regression models were used to compare the predictive value of CBE by physicians alone, MTEs alone, and physicians and MTEs combined.Results
For CBEs by physicians alone, MTEs alone, and both combined, sensitivity was 71, 82, and 89% and specificity was 55, 45, and 35%, respectively. Using adjusted logistic regression models, the validated areas under the curve were 0.685, 0.692, and 0.710 (median bootstrapped p value (DeLong) = 0.381).Conclusion
The predictive value for a suspicious breast lesion in CBEs performed by MTEs in patients without prior surgery was similar to that of physician-conducted CBEs. Including MTEs in the CBE procedure in breast units thus appears feasible and could be a way of utilizing their skills.
SUBMITTER: Lux MP
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6465747 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Diagnostic Accuracy of Breast Medical Tactile Examiners (MTEs): A Prospective Pilot Study.
Lux Michael P MP Emons Julius J Bani Mayada R MR Wunderle Marius M Sell Charlotte C Preuss Caroline C Rauh Claudia C Jud Sebastian M SM Heindl Felix F Langemann Hanna H Geyer Thomas T Brandl Anna-Lisa AL Hack Carolin C CC Adler Werner W Schulz-Wendtland Rüdiger R Beckmann Matthias W MW Fasching Peter A PA Gass Paul P
Breast care (Basel, Switzerland) 20190130 1
<h4>Background</h4>The usefulness of clinical breast examination (CBE) in general and in breast cancer screening programs has been a matter of debate. This study investigated whether adding vision-impaired medical tactile examiners (MTEs) improves the predictiveness of CBE for suspicious lesions and analyzed the feasibility and acceptability of this approach.<h4>Methods</h4>The prospective study included 104 patients. Physicians and MTEs performed CBEs, and mammography and ultrasound results wer ...[more]
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