As the UK Government announces the Neighbourhood Early Diagnosis Fund for Cancer Alliances, Claire Rowney, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, welcomes action that will enable and support local health systems to drive breast screening uptake in their communities.
Breast screening is a vital tool in detecting breast cancer earlier, and the sooner treatment begins the more likely it is to be successful. Breast Cancer Now’s analysis of the latest available NHS breast cancer screening data (for 2023-2024) finds that if the 80% attendance target had been met, an extra 2,029 women would have had their breast cancer detected via screening.
But ensuring all eligible women can easily attend their breast cancer screening appointment is a significant challenge. Screening is less accessible to women from ethnic minorities, women living in deprived areas, and women with disabilities - who are at greater risk of poor breast cancer outcomes.
Just 63.3% of eligible women living in the most deprived areas of England, are up to date with their breast cancer screening. This compares with 74.1% of women in the most affluent areas.
Claire Rowney, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said:
“We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to address health inequalities as part of the National Cancer Plan for England, and to tackle local disparities in screening and early diagnosis, so that everyone has an equal opportunity to live, and live well.
“But, in order to be effective, the work of Cancer Alliances and local teams to increase awareness and access to screening needs to be supported by improvements to the screening programme at a national level. The UK Government must publish its Breast Screening Programme Uptake Improvement Review urgently, so that Alliances can learn from previous efforts to improve attendance. We also need to see a rapid rollout of the long-promised digital booking system to make arranging screening fast and convenient.
“We are ready to share our expertise and insight to support the UK Government in its delivery of the Cancer Plan and ensure everyone receives an early and fast breast cancer diagnosis, the best care and support, and access to ground-breaking treatments that pave the way for a cure.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- In 2023/24 annual data, screening attendance across screening units in England ranged from 80.7% in to just 54.6% (women aged 50>71). Source: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/breast-screening-programme/england---2023-24https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/breast-screening-programme/england---2023-24
- According to the latest data from the Department for Health and Social Care, 74.1% of eligible women were update to date with their breast screening in the least deprived areas of England, while that figure was only 63.3% in the least deprived areas, in 2024 . Source: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/breast%20screening#page/7/gid/1/pat/159/par/K02000001/ati/15/are/E92000001/iid/22001/age/225/sex/2/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/ine-pt-0_ine-yo-1:2024:-1:-1_ine-ct-160_ine-vo-0
- Research published in the British Journal of Cancer found that in England, women with disabilities were 36% less likely to attend breast screening, and women with multiple disabilities are even less likely to participate. Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5729433/