ROC analysis of mammography and palpation for breast screening.

Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCs) for mammography and clinical palpation individually and in combination are generated using screening data from Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project (BCDDP) No. 25. Detailed standard records of disease features observed on screening were kept by all examiners. And actual disease states at examination were determined for each case by pathology or follow-up. The ROCs are produced from these objective data without the usual concern for examiners' ultimate diagnostic conclusions. Comparative analysis of the ROCs illustrates the clear superiority of mammography over clinical palpation as an individual screening modality as well as the further superiority of the combined use of both modalities.