Breast cancer screening

Breast cancer leafletWhy breast screening is important

Breast cancer screening uses a test called mammography which involves taking x-rays of the breasts. Screening can help detect breast cancers early when they are too small to see or feel. These tiny breast cancers are usually easier to treat than large ones.

Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer at the earliest possible stage have a nine in ten chance of surviving for at least five years after diagnosis.

Who is invited for breast screening?

Across the UK women aged 50 to 70 are invited for breast screening with mammography every three years. Women over 70 are eligible for breast screening but are not automatically invited. In England breast screening is gradually being extended so that women aged 47 to 50 and 70 to 73 are also invited.

 

How many lives does breast screening save?

Breast screening may save lives. Estimates vary from 300 to 1400 lives saved each year as a result of breast screening.

 

What are the downsides of breast screening?

Breast screening is not perfect. As well as picking up cancers that need treating, it can also pick up invasive cancers that will not cause any problems in a woman's lifetime, and non-invasive breast cancers called Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS). In some cases DCIS can develop into the invasive type of breast cancer so does need to be treated. In other cases this condition will not cause any harm to a woman during her lifetime. It is not usually possible for doctors to distinguish between these two types of DCIS so some women will receive treatment they don’t need.

Scientists also disagree on the numbers of women who receive treatment they don’t need. Some estimate that for every woman whose life is saved by breast screening, 10 women are treated unnecessarily. Others estimate that more than two lives are saved for every woman receiving unwarranted treatment.

Some women will receive false negative or false positive results from breast screening. False positive results, in particular, can lead to anxiety as women await the results of further tests to determine whether or not they have breast cancer.

 

So should I go for breast screening?

Whether or not to go for breast screening is clearly a personal decision. It’s important that women have access to enough information about benefits and harms of breast screening in order to make that decision.

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer in the UK, affecting more than 45,000 women each year. Breast screening remains one of the best ways of detecting breast cancer at an early stage when treatment is likely to be most effective.

 

What if I'm not aged 50 to 70?

Breast screening is not routinely available to women under 50. This is because there is less evidence that screening women in their early 40s will be of benefit. The breasts of younger women are more dense which makes it difficult to identify areas which could be cancer.

Women with a family history of breast cancer may be eligible for screening before the age of 50. If you have a family history of breast cancer, do talk to your GP who will refer you to specialist services if necessary.

Breast screening is effective in women over 70. All women over 70 are entitled to breast screening. To make an appointment, talk to your GP or breast screening unit.

 

Our current research

Cancer Research UK continues to fund research to improve the effectiveness of the national breast cancer screening programme.

To read about our research into breast cancer screening, go to our research highlights pages.

 

Find out more

When it comes to finding cancer early, screening is only one part of the story. As well as attending screening, you can help to spot breast cancer early by being breast aware and looking out for any unusual changes.

There are many factors which affect a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. Things we can do to reduce the risk of breast cancer include: