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A randomised controlled trial compared CAD single reading mammogram with double reading of mammogram, which showed that CAD could be an effective alternative.

Mammograms using computer-aided detection(CAD) is emerging as an effective alternative to double reading of mammograms in breast cancer screening.

Double reading mammogram by two different radiologists is the universally accepted gold standard in early detection of breast cancer. CAD systems use computer algorithms to analyse digital images of the mamogram to detect and mark suspicious areas, so that significant findings wont be missed by the radiologists.

A randomised controlled study conducted in three screening centres in England ( Manchester, Nottingham and Warwickshire) compared both the screening methods.The estimated sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value for single reading with CAD were 87.2%, 96.9% and 18.0 %, with the corresponding figures for double reading being 87.7%, 97.4% and 21.1%.

The authors concluded that CAD is an alternative to double reading, and the additional cost and recall rates can be balanced with the reading time, and noted that: "The small increase in the number of women recalled for assessment in the group given a single reading with computer-aided detection as compared with the group given a double reading is consistent with the results of previously published studies." They also recommended that the performance of CAD in full-field digital mammography and its performance in film mammography, used in the current study, needs to be investigated.

Dr Marco Rosselli Del Turco, President of the European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA), congratulated the authors on having the foresight to initiate the study and suggested that it would be beneficial to perform a trial looking to see whether there were advantages in adding CAD to the double reading procedure.