2.23 million women screened for breast cancer in 2018-19

NHS Digital has reported that 2.23 million women aged 45 and over were screened for breast cancer in 2018-19, a 4.5 per cent increase on the previous year.

The greatest increases were found in the over-70 age range, where 218,000 women were screened for breast cancer in 2018-19, a 51.2 per cent increase on 2017-18 (144,000). NHS Digital has said that the rise is due, at least in part, to invites sent to women who had not previously received a final invitation.

The Breast Screening Programme, England, 2018-19 provides information on the coverage, screening activity, number and uptake of invitations, as well as the outcome of screening and the rate of cancer detection of the NHS Breast Screening Programme.

Coverage figures, which are based on the proportion of the eligible population screened within the last three years and measured for women aged 53-70, dropped slightly to 74.6 per cent in 2018-19, from 74.9 per cent in 2017-18.

The report shows that uptake increased, with the highest uptake rates noted in the North East sub region at 75.3 per cent. In fact, uptake was above the national minimum standard of 70 per cent in all regions except London, where it was 64.0 per cent and the North West, where it was 69.5 per cent.