Uptake of routine breast screening invitations was 73.1 per cent among women aged 50 to 70 in 2011-12, new figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show today.

Although this figure has remained fairly stable over the last five years, there has been a slight decline in uptake, which stood at 73.4 per cent in 2010-11 and 73.6 per cent in 2006-07.

The lowest uptake was among women aged 71 to 74 at 67.7 per cent. This age group covers the recent extension of the screening programme to include women aged 71 to 73 which is currently being rolled out across England.

Today’s report also shows that the cancer detection rate was highest in women over 70 years. In 2011-12 the rate of women over 70 years with cancer detected was 13.9 per 1,000 women screened. Amongst all women aged 45 and over, the rate of women with cancer detected was 8.1 per 1,000 women screened.

NHS Breast Screening Programme, England 2011-12; includes data on those invited for breast screening, coverage, uptake of invitations, outcomes of screening and cancers detected.

The report also shows in 2011-12:

• 2.53 million women aged 45 and over were invited for screening compared with 2.44 million women in 2010-11. It is likely that the increase can be largely explained by the age extension to the NHS Breast Screening Programme.
• 15,750 women aged 45 and over had cancers detected by the screening programme compared to 14,730 in 2010-11.
• London Strategic Health Authority (SHA) had the lowest uptake for women aged 50 to 70 (63.1 per cent) while East Midlands SHA had the highest uptake (77.1 per cent).
• Coverage for women aged 53 to 70 stood at 77.0 per cent at 31st March 2012, a slight fall from 77.2 per cent at the same point in 2011.

HSCIC chief executive Tim Straughan said:

“Today’s figures reveal that the number of women in England who are taking up breast screening invitations has been fairly consistent in recent years with almost three quarters of women aged 50 to 70 taking up their invitation for breast screening.

Our report is important for informing policy and monitoring the quality and effectiveness of breast screening services. Future reports will be vital for monitoring if uptake levels change.”

A full version of the report can be viewed at http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/brstscreen1112
 

Source: NHS