Breast Screening

The UK was one of the first countries in the world to establish a national population-based breast screening programme. There are six static screening centres in Scotland supported by nineteen mobile units. The first screening centres became operational in 1988 and in 2008 the NHS Breast Screening Programme in Scotland celebrated its 20th Anniversary. Since full national coverage was attained in 1991 there have been over 2.3 million screening episodes and in excess of 17,000 breast cancers diagnosed.

The UK National Health Service Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP), a UK-wide programme of free mammographic screening for breast cancer, was introduced in 1988 following a recommendation from a working party established by the four UK Departments of Health and chaired by Sir Patrick Forrest. The working party concluded that there was evidence that screening for breast cancer could reduce mortality from the disease by up to 30%.

In Scotland, women aged 50-64 years were invited for a routine screen once every three years until 2003-04, when the age range for invitation was extended to include women up to the age of 70 years. This expansion was phased in throughout the country over a three year round of screening. Women over 70 years are still screened three yearly on request.

Up until 2007/08, the screening method used in Scotland consisted of two mammographic views at first screen and one view at subsequent screens. In Better Cancer Care, An Action Plan the Scottish Government affirmed its commitment to the implementation of two view screening at every screening appointment by April 2010. In 2008/09 a phased roll out of two views commenced and was completed in March 2010.

Within Scotland (as part of the Scottish Breast Screening Programme) information and performance data are collected by each of the six screening centres and compiled by ISD on an annual basis. The NHSBSP Performance Standards, which minimum and target standards are specified, are the means by which this information is evaluated. Up until 31st March 2008, the NHSBSP Performance Standards were based on women aged 50-64; to reflect the expansion of the age range, they have now been extended to include women up to the age of 70 in the current publication. The present release includes data to 31st March 2009. Previously published trends in NHSBSP Performance Standards to 31st March 2008, for women ages 50-64, are available in the Tables and Charts section below.

Statistical Publication Notice : Breast screening.

Breast screening statistics

Key facts

NHSBSP Performance Standards, at 31st March 2009:

• Looking at three year performance standard attendance figures, uptake remains similar to last year, at approximately 75%.
• All NHS Boards continued to exceed the minimum performance attendance standard of >70% of women invited during the previous three years.
• Looking at the three year  combined data, uptake fell with increasing deprivation from approximately 82% in the least deprived category to 64% in the most deprived category. Women in the most deprived quintile failed to meet the minimum performance standard of 70%.
• Comparing three year combined performance figures for those women with a previous screen within 5 years of attendance, the invasive cancer detection rate has increased from 5.7 to 6.0 per 1,000 women screened in 2006-2009.
• In 2008/09, 10 of 11 NHSBSP (NHS Breast Screening Programme) Minimum Performance Standards were met.
  

In 2008-09:

• Approximately 1,500 cases of screen detected breast cancer were diagnosed in women of all ages.
• Over 80% (1,200 cases) of cancers detected were invasive, of which almost half were less than 15mm in size.
• The proportion of cancers diagnosed pre-operatively was 96.3%, an increase of almost 30% since 1997.
  

Tables and charts

NHSBSP Performance Standards

•  Performance standards  [22KB]: uptake, cancer detection, standardised detection ratio, recalled for assessment and early recall rates for 1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009
•  Performance standards (three-year rolling periods)  [86KB]: trends in performance from 1st April 2004 to 31st March 2009
• Uptake by NHS Board  [29KB]: percentage uptake (three-year rolling periods) by NHS Board from 1st April 2004 to 31st March 2009 

Historical trends in NHSBSP Performance Standards (based on pervious age range of 50-64 years)

Deprivation screening statistics

•  Deprivation [29KB]: 1 year percentage uptake by deprivation category, from 1st April 2003 to 31st March 2009
•  Deprivation [23KB]: 3 year percentage uptake by deprivation category, from 1st April 2003 to 31st March 2009

Trends in uptake by deprivation category (based on women 50-64 years)

• Deprivation  [28KB]: 1 year percentage uptake by deprivation category, from 1st April 1990 to 31st March 2008
• Deprivation  [26KB]: 3 year percentage uptake by deprivation category, from 1st April 1990 to 31st March 2008

Other breast screening statistics

•  Attendance  [24KB]: number of women attending screening by appointment type from 1st April 1991 to 31st March 2009
• Uptake by type of invitation [22KB]: percentage uptake by type of invitation 1st April 2006 to 31st March 2009
•  Biopsy results  [34KB]: pre-operative diagnosis and diagnostic open biopsies rates from 1st April 1996 to 31st March 2009
•  Outcomes [29KB]: screening outcomes from 1st April 2004 to 31st March 2009

Mortality

•  Breast cancer mortality [22KB]: trends in mortality since the start of the screening programme

Useful links

 Breast cancer statistics : detailed incidence and mortality data, lifetime risk, prevalence and survival statistics

 NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) : general information and publications relating to breast screening in the UK

 Breast screening - National Overview (November 2003)  [480KB] and Current status report (December 2006)  [1,302KB]: reports produced by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland

 BASO audit of screen detected breast cancers : an annual report comparing diagnosis, treatment and survival in each UK region against QA standards

 National Services Division (NSD), which has responsibility for providing the Scottish Breast Screening Programme

Information about breast screening

Information on the development and major policy changes relating to Breast Screening since the start of the programme available here: Milestones table   [25KB]

Breast screening explained   [344KB]: leaflet produced by Health Scotland

Ayrshire and Arran breast screening website : includes general information about the screening process

Breast Screening Data Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions relating to the Breast Screening Programme data available here  [12KB]

Metadata

Information about Breast Screening data available here  [26KB]

Glossary

Glossary of breast screening terms relating to the data on this website available here  [78KB]

Details of data sources

Main contact: For queries or to give feedback: Cancer Stats

 Printer friendly version