TY - JOUR
T1 - Breast imaging readers’ performance in the PERFORMS test-set based assessment scheme within the MyPeBS international randomised study
AU - the MyPeBS Consortium
AU - Michalopoulou, Eleni
AU - Darker, Iain
AU - Iotti, Valentina
AU - Slonim, Efrat
AU - de Koning, Harry J.
AU - Souza, Rodrigo Alcantara
AU - Burrion, Jean Benoit
AU - De Montgolfier, Sandrine
AU - Vissac-Sabatier, Cécile
AU - Guindy, Michal
AU - Pattacini, Pierpaolo
AU - Delaloge, Suzette
AU - Gilbert, Fiona J.
AU - Chen, Yan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/2/1
Y1 - 2025/2/1
N2 - Purpose: A survey conducted by the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) in 2023 revealed significant variations in Quality Assurance (QA) practices across Europe. The UK encourages regular performance monitoring for screen readers. This study aimed to assess the variability in diagnostic performance among readers participating in a wider prospective randomised trial across multiple countries. Method: In this retrospective multinational study, breast imaging readers from the MyPeBS clinical trial examined a test set of 40 challenging breast screening cases using the PERFORMS software, from March 2021 to February 2022. The challenging set, enriched with biopsy-proven cancers, aimed to differentiate readers by their level of diagnostic performance. Cancer detection and correct return to screen rates were calculated for each participant. Results: A total of 110 readers from 6 countries completed the PERFORMS test set, while 88 also completed an accompanying questionnaire collecting information about their breast screening work and experience. The study revealed variability in cancer detection rates (M = 73.6 %, SD = 19.7 %, range 0.0 %–100.0 %) and correct return to screen rates (M = 79.7 %, SD = 10.5 %, range 46.4 %–100.0 %). Outliers with extremely low cancer detection (2.7 % of participants) and correct return to screen rates (1.8 % of participants) were also identified. Conclusions: Breast imaging readers’ performance in test set-based assessments like PERFORMS can reflect real-world screening proficiency. The presence of outlier readers with low diagnostic performance on the test highlights the need for double reading and for standardised QA protocols to ensure patient safety and service efficiency.
AB - Purpose: A survey conducted by the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) in 2023 revealed significant variations in Quality Assurance (QA) practices across Europe. The UK encourages regular performance monitoring for screen readers. This study aimed to assess the variability in diagnostic performance among readers participating in a wider prospective randomised trial across multiple countries. Method: In this retrospective multinational study, breast imaging readers from the MyPeBS clinical trial examined a test set of 40 challenging breast screening cases using the PERFORMS software, from March 2021 to February 2022. The challenging set, enriched with biopsy-proven cancers, aimed to differentiate readers by their level of diagnostic performance. Cancer detection and correct return to screen rates were calculated for each participant. Results: A total of 110 readers from 6 countries completed the PERFORMS test set, while 88 also completed an accompanying questionnaire collecting information about their breast screening work and experience. The study revealed variability in cancer detection rates (M = 73.6 %, SD = 19.7 %, range 0.0 %–100.0 %) and correct return to screen rates (M = 79.7 %, SD = 10.5 %, range 46.4 %–100.0 %). Outliers with extremely low cancer detection (2.7 % of participants) and correct return to screen rates (1.8 % of participants) were also identified. Conclusions: Breast imaging readers’ performance in test set-based assessments like PERFORMS can reflect real-world screening proficiency. The presence of outlier readers with low diagnostic performance on the test highlights the need for double reading and for standardised QA protocols to ensure patient safety and service efficiency.
KW - Cancer detection
KW - Mammography
KW - Performance
KW - Quality assurance
KW - Sensitivity and specificity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85215833482&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ejrad.2025.111938
DO - 10.1016/j.ejrad.2025.111938
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85215833482
SN - 0720-048X
VL - 183
JO - European Journal of Radiology
JF - European Journal of Radiology
M1 - 111938
ER -