As Mammograms Go Digital, Docs Call More Women Back

As more radiologists switch from film to digital mammogram imaging, they must learn new interpretation techniques—and that means more healthy women face a dreaded recall for further testing, the New York Times reports. During the changeover, “there’s an increase in the rate of things you think are abnormal,” says a doctor. But over time, clearer digital images should cut the number of callbacks, experts say.

Digital can be better at finding tumors and telltale calcium deposits, so practices are rushing to install the new machines. But comparing a woman’s older scans to digital ones can be like “comparing apples and oranges,” says one radiologist. A seeming change in a breast may worry doctors, prompting the need for more tests—but it may have been there all along, invisible to the older technique. (More breast cancer stories.)