e-petition 742179 relating to NHS breast screening

NHS breast screening

The national breast cancer screening programmes across England and all the devolved parts of the UK invite women registered with a GP to be screened from the age of 50 years, every three years, until the age of 71. Women receive their first invite to be screened between the ages of 50 and 53.

Breast screening uses mammography (X-rays) to look for abnormalities in breast tissue.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provide guidance on the care of people at an increased risk of breast cancer due to family history and inherited genetic mutations. Targeted cancer screening programmes in England are aimed at specific groups of people who have a higher than average risk of developing the condition they are being screened for. These groups may be offered breast screening at a younger age, and at a higher frequency than every three years. Women aged over 71 in England (or aged 70 in Wales and Scotland) can request breast screening if they wish.

Policy background

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the NHS in the four UK countries about all aspects of population screening and supports the implementation of screening programmes. The UK NSC defines screening as:

The process of identifying healthy people who may have an increased chance of a disease or condition. The screening provider then offers information, further tests and treatment. This is to reduce associated problems or complications.

National population screening programmes in England, including national breast cancer screening, are recommended by the UK NSC and funded by NHS England.

Targeted programmes are currently recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and in general, they are funded by integrated care boards (ICBs).

Background to the petition

The petition scheduled for debate is calling for women aged 40 and over to be invited to the national breast screening programme, and for breast screening to happen annually rather than every three years. The petition was created by a chemotherapy nurse, who argues that lowering the age for national breast screening is necessary due to the increase of breast cancer in those under 40, and that cancers could be missed as screening can happen as late as age 53.

The petition received 106,212 signatures and closed on 9 April 2026. All petitions that receive over 100,000 signatures are eligible for a parliamentary debate.

The government response to the petition states that the government does not intend to lower the age threshold or increase frequency of breast screening. The government states that screening can also cause harm, such as overdiagnosis and overtreatment, where patients are diagnosed and treated for a condition that was unlikely to cause them harm. Women younger than 50 are therefore not part of the screening programme because they are at lower risk of developing breast cancer, meaning there is a greater risk of overtreatment, and because those under 50 tend to have denser breast tissue which reduces the accuracy of a mammogram.

The government referred to the 2012 UK independent review of breast cancer screening (the ‘Marmot review’) which found that the screening programme prevents approximately 1,300 deaths annually from breast cancer. However, the Marmot review also found that for every death prevented by screening, around three women will be treated for a cancer that would not have caused harm. The review recommended breast screening should continue for ages 50 – 71.

The government stated that the UK NSC keeps age brackets for screening under review, and that the UK NSC was currently reviewing how to improve breast screening for women with dense breast tissue. The government also highlighted the AgeX trial which is screening women outside the current age bracket, and that the findings will be reviewed by the UK NSC.

Breast cancer statistics Incidence

Around 59,400 new breast cancer cases are diagnosed every year in the UK. This makes breast cancer the most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 15% of all new cancer cases.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, making up 30% of all new female cancer cases in the UK.

The likelihood of developing breast cancer increases with age. Breast cancer is rare in young women and a quarter (25%) of all new breast cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over.

Breast cancer incidence significantly increased over the last two decades (2000-2002 to 2020-2022) for all age groups, except those aged 0 to 24 and 50 to 64. However, breast cancer incidence has remained stable in the last ten years and is predicted to fall slightly over the next two decades.

The chart below shows incidence by age group for three-year rolling averages between 2000 to 2002 and 2020 to 2022.

Source: Cancer Research UK, Breast cancer statistics

The largest increase in breast cancer incidence was seen in the 65 to 69 age group, rising from 283 to 396 per 100,000 women. This was an increase of around 40%. Overall, breast cancer incidence rates have risen by around 12% over the same period. The 25 to 49 age group saw the smallest increase at around 5%.

Mortality

Breast cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the UK with around 11,200 deaths per year. This accounts for 14% of all female cancer deaths in the UK.

Mortality from breast cancer is linked to age. Around half (51%) of breast cancer deaths in the UK are in people aged 75 and over.

Over the last decade, breast cancer mortality rates have decreased by around 16% and are expected to fall further in the next two decades.

Early diagnosis

In 2022, around 85% of breast cancer cases with a known stage were diagnosed at stage I or II in England.

As of 2019, most breast cancer cases (53%) were diagnosed via an urgent suspected cancer referral, and around a third (32%) via screening.

Evidence on screening Screening younger women

When breast screening should be offered is often debated. The UK NSC assesses existing evidence when deciding changes to breast screening, and considers changes when there is ‘strong evidence that [changes] could improve outcomes’.

There have been trials offering breast cancer screening to women outside of the national breast screening age range. Cancer Research UK is currently supporting the AgeX trial which invites women aged 47-49 and 71-73 to breast screening.

Previous trials indicate that the evidence on whether screening women in their 40s is an effective strategy for reducing breast cancer mortality is very mixed. Some evidence suggests that offering annual mammography from ages 40–48 reduced breast-cancer mortality during the first 10 years of follow-up by about 25%.

However, due to the small number of deaths recorded in the clinical trial, this estimate is not very robust and the real reduction in mortality could range anywhere from 3% to 42%. The trial also did not provide conclusive evidence on the benefit of screening younger women. The data suggests that screening may result in a reduction of between 0 and 1.3 deaths per 1,000 women screened.

Other research highlights possible harms of screening younger women, including false-positive results, high recall rates, anxiety, and the possibility of overdiagnosis (although data from the UK Age Trial suggests that screening women in their forties adds little additional overdiagnosis).

As outlined by the government response to the petition, some evidence also suggests that younger women also stand to benefit less from mammography in particular as they tend to have greater breast density which decreases mammographic sensitivity.

The UK NSC is therefore currently considering changes to screening programmes for women at higher risk of breast cancer, including women with dense breast tissue. Following stakeholder feedback, they have set up an expert breast working group, to help the UK NSC to understand the clinical impact and costs of adding breast density to existing screening pathways.

The charity Cancer Research UK also states that “there's limited evidence on the benefits and harms of screening before the age of 50 and after the age of 70.” Their page on Research and optimisation of breast screening contains more information on other avenues for improving breast screening services, including screening women with higher risk of breast cancer and identifying women with higher breast density as well as the use of AI.

Screening frequency

As stated above, more frequent screening can detect some cancers earlier, but it also increases potential harms such as false-positive results, additional investigations, overdiagnosis, overtreatment, radiation exposure, and NHS resource use.

As found by the Marmot review, earlier diagnosis of breast cancer can also contribute to a decrease in health care costs in the long run. Current UK policy reflects a judgement that the balance of benefits and harms is acceptable at 3‑year intervals.

As with the question around screening younger women, research is increasingly focused on risk-stratified screening rather than screening everyone more often. Studies suggest that women at higher risk (for example, due to family history, genetic factors, or breast density) might benefit from more frequent screening, while lower-risk women likely do not.

Ongoing clinical trials such as My Personal Breast Screening are investigating risk-stratified breast screening across six countries, including the UK.

More information on individual breast cancer risk and potential policy impacts can be found in the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) collection: Why we need to understand breast cancer risk.

Reading list

The Independent, Breast cancer symptoms in under-50s being ‘routinely missed’ by health professionals, charity says, 25 June 2026

Nuffield Trust, Cancer screening, 25 June 2026

UK Parliament Petitions, Lower the age for invites to regular mammograms to 40 & perform annually, closed 9 April 2026

BBC News, Kent nurse vows to continue campaign for earlier breast screening, 11 March 2026