Breast screening - statistics

• More than 2 million women aged 50-70 years were invited for screening
• 1.7 million women were screened
• 83,000 women were recalled for further tests - 4.8% of women screened
• Nearly 14,000 cancers were detected - 17% of those undergoing further tests, 0.8% of all women screened
• 2004 was the first year that women aged 65 to 70 were invited for breast screening

Breast screening statistics are also available for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The UK breast screening programmes invited 2,074,572 women for breast screening in 2004/5 and almost three-quarters were screened. This figure includes 129,202 women who were screened after GP or self-referral.

Table 6.1 summarises breast screening activity in women aged 50 and over.

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Table 6.2 shows a small decrease in acceptance by age-group. Invited women aged 71 or over are too few in number for any conclusions to be drawn.

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Of the more than 1.7 million women who were screened, 4.8% were recalled for further investigations (83,028 women).

After further investigation a woman may be diagnosed with cancer or, a pre-cancerous lesion (DCIS), be given the all clear, or be placed on ‘early recall’. ‘Early recall’ occurs when a woman is not given a result but is asked to return for further tests before the routine three-yearly examination is due, most frequently after 6 or 12 months.

In 2004, women aged 65-70 were invited for breast screening for the first time. More than a quarter of a million women aged over 65 are now screened in the UK. Women aged 65-70 are usually invited and women over 71 are screened on request.

Table 6.3 shows the screening activity for women in these age-groups.

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When we compare outcomes for women aged 50-64 and women aged 50-70 we can see that the older women have a higher rate of invasive cancer. This reflects their increased risk.

Table 6.4 compares outcomes for these two groups for women invited for screening and those who refer themselves for screening. Women who refer themselves are more likely to have breast cancer.

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Figure 6.1 compares the rate of mastectomy (breast removal) to ‘lumpectomy’ (breast conservation). Most screen detected cancers are treated by lumpectomy.

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Table 6.5 shows complete information for all women screened by the UK screening programme.

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