Screening Mammography Findings among Some Nigerian Women

Background: Screening mammography is currently the most effective and reliable Imaging method for early detection of breast cancer in women, when it is most treatable, thus reducing the health burden and mortality arising from breast cancer.

Objective: This study was to assess the findings on mammograms of women who came for routine screening mammography.

Design: A prospective descriptive multiple centre Study.

Setting: Sharon Radio- Diagnostic Centre, in Benin City and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos. (LASUTH)

Subjects: All the 242 asymptomatic women who presented for screening mammography over a four year period (2010-2013).

Results: A total of two hundred and forty-two women were screened, and the mean age of the study population was 48.93+8.0 years with age range of 25 to 76 years. Majority of the women who came for mammography screening were in the 40 to 50 years age range, making up 60.7% of the study population and the predominant breast parenchyma pattern was scattered fibroglandular densities (56.6%). Seven eight women making up 32.2% of the total population had positive findings on their mammograms, however only 7 women about 2.9% appeared significant and needed biopsy to rule out malignancy. Majority of the mammograms had BIRADS category 1 (52.5%), which implied nothing was found and so they were normal. The Parenchyma pattern had statistically significant correlation with age (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The percentage of probably malignant findings was low in this study and better outcome is expected from such screening detected lesions. Therefore effort should be made to encourage women to embrace screening mammography as a routine investigation, as its role in reducing breast cancer mortality cannot be overemphasized.