Basic principles of mammographic diagnosis.

The only hope we have at present to control breast cancer is to diagnose and treat it at the earliest possible stage. It has already been convincingly demonstrated that properly performed mammography interpreted by a well-trained mammographer can detect breast cancer before it has grown to a stage at which it is incurable. But in order to be an effective diagnostic method mammography must be performed at a very high level of quality. This article describes the radiologist's role in building up and taking the responsibility for the observation of details in screen/film mammography. The basic principles of the mammographic interpretation are specified.