Comparison of mammography and breast infrared imaging: sensitivity, specificity, false negatives, false positives, positive predictive value and negative predictive value

Breast infrared imaging (IRI) for detection of breast cancer has been unfairly maligned as having unacceptably high false positive and false negative rates. IRI actually has statistical performance characteristics that are similar to mammography. The false positive rate of 14% is about twice as high as mammography but surgical intervention is not possible (no increase in invasive procedures). Also, the false negatives of IRI do not hinder the detection of breast cancer by physical exam, mammography and ultrasound. Finally, the ability of IRI to predict who will develop breast cancer is not appreciated and IRI results should be used to select patients for prevention trials.