Some of those women would be subject to unnecessary biopsies and even to removal of lesions that would never turn cancerous, he said.

A result is unnecessary vaginal biopsies that can result in their own false positives.

Dr. Woolf said his group was also aware of the test's risks, including unnecessary biopsies and anxiety about false positive results.

Compliance is low, and studies show that those who do it have the anxiety of more unnecessary biopsies than those who don't.

If women want to do it, she added, "and take the risk that they will have unnecessary biopsies and increased anxiety, that is their choice."

Based on solid evidence, screening asymptomatic women will result in unnecessary additional biopsies because of false-positive test results.

Half of these women would experience false positives and one quarter would undergo unnecessary biopsies.

Such harms include false positives, unnecessary surgical biopsies and a financial burden on the patient.

However, doctors want to reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies performed each year to spare women anxiety, pain and expense.

But the ultrasound did not eliminate all unnecessary biopsies.