Tuesday, December 23, 2025 12/23/2025

Satisfaction of Search in Breast Cancer Detection

Award Number: R01CA259048
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/15/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2027

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Satisfaction of Search in Breast Cancer Detection - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Breast cancer has the highest incidence of cancer for women in the U.S. and across the world. Despite advances in technology—from film-screen images to Full Field Digital Mammography (FFDM) and now to Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT)—the yearly miss rate has remained stubbornly stable, ranging between 10-30% at screening. Technology alone is not reducing errors of omission; we need to understand the specific challenges faced by the human readers interpreting the images, and the specific errors that they lead to. Satisfaction of Search (SOS) refers to the fact that, after having detected a first lesion in a case, the miss rate for additional lesions in the same case is substantially elevated. This specific type of error has been shown to account for 30% of misses in the domains of Radiology where it has been studied, including chest radiography and Computed Tomography. And yet, it has never been studied in the domain of breast cancer. Thus, there is a critical need to determine how SOS contributes to errors in breast cancer screening. In the present project we will determine the rates of occurrence and the underlying causes of SOS in FFDM and DBT. We have devised a novel method that overcomes limitations of previous methods and that is optimized for use in FFDM and DBT. Previous approaches to studying SOS involved the photographic addition of artificial lesions to images, which is not feasible for breast imaging. Instead, we will construct a database of naturally occurring cases that is structured for studying SOS. This will involve the collection of multiple-lesion cases and controlled single-lesions cases, where the former are matched with the latter on key diagnostic dimensions, such as lesion type, lesion size, and breast density. In two main experiments (one with FFDM and one with DBT), radiologists will read cases from the experimental set, marking the locations and diagnoses for benign and malignant lesions. Signal-detection analyses over dual- and single-lesion cases will be used to estimate the rate of SOS. Eye position and pupil diameter will be tracked as participants read each case. These data will allow us to assess the prevalence of different known causes of SOS: (a) premature termination, in which search following first lesion detection is less comprehensive compared with single-lesion control cases; (b) perceptual set, in which, after having detected a first lesion, participants are biased to find subsequent lesions with similar perceptual features, leading to reduced sensitivity in the detection of perceptually dissimilar targets; and (c) resource depletion, in which the demands of maintaining information about a first-detected lesion in memory reduce available perceptual/cognitive resources, thereby reducing the efficiency of subsequent search. Understanding the rates and underlying causes of SOS in breast cancer detection will lay the foundation for planned future work to develop training programs and best practices that mitigate the specific causes of SOS errors and thereby reduce miss rates in breast cancer screening.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2026	2025	THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	5	12/1/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $535,304 )
2025	2025	THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	001	5	5/22/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$53,531
2025	2025	THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	5	4/11/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$481,773
														Subtotal = $535,304

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $583,496 )
2024	2024	THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	001	4	4/17/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$30,713
2024	2024	THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	4	3/1/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$552,783
														Subtotal = $583,496

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $601,585 )
2023	2023	THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	3	2/2/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$601,585
														Subtotal = $601,585

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $603,934 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, THE	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	001	2	4/28/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$49,302
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, THE	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	2	1/29/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$554,632
														Subtotal = $603,934

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $673,103 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, THE	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Cancer Cause and Prevention Research	000	1	3/9/2021	NEW	$673,103
														Subtotal = $673,103

Grand Total All Awards = $2,997,422

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Satisfaction of Search in Breast Cancer Detection

Award Number: R01CA259048

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/15/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2027

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer