Clinical examination of the breasts by nonphysicians: a viable screening option?

After four years of annual screening 10,566 women, physical examination (PE) by nurse clinicians is as effective in detecting suspect cases as is the examination of surgeons and the general medical community of Cincinnati. Carefully performed physical examination has found 45% of the extant cancers detected. Twenty-eight percent of the cancers detected by PE were minimal lesions. One-third of all the minimal cancers currently detectable were discovered by PE.