§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration she is giving to extending the age that women are automatically screened for breast cancer. [24824]
§ Mr. SackvilleA study is being planned looking at the benefits and cost-effectiveness of including women aged 65 or over in the breast screening programme. Research is already under-way on the effectiveness of screening women aged 40 to 50.
§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the research currently being conducted into(a) breast screening of women 65 years and over, (b) breast screening of women under 50 and (c) the interval between breast screening which her Department has (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated; and if she will detail for each (1) the body undertaking the research, (2) the geographical areas covered, (3) the sample size, (4) the expected completion date and (5) the cost of the exercise. [24825]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe United Kingdom Health Departments, along with the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and the two major cancer research charities—the Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund—are currently funding four studies into breast cancer screening costing £5 million over five years. Two of these trials relate to:
(i) The effects of screening women annually from age 40
This is a multi-centre trial of some 195,000 women aged 40–41 who were identified and randomly allocated to a study group of 65,000 or a control group of 130,000. An interim analysis will take place in 1996, after which a decision on future funding will be taken.(ii) The effects of screening more frequently than every three years in women aged 50 and over
This is a five-centre randomised trial looking at annual screening. The aim is to recruit 100,000 women aged 50 to 64. This trial is due to finish in 1996.The trials are being co-ordinated by the United Kingdom co-ordinating committee on cancer research. The Department of Health contributed £270,000 to the trials in 1994–95.The Department also funds the cancer screening evaluation unit at the Royal Marsden hospital, Sutton, by some £400,000 per year. The CSEU has a wide remit for the evaluation of cancer screening, a large part of which relates to breast cancer screening. This includes the co-ordination of the multi-centre UKCCCR age trial.A study is planned to look at the benefits and cost-effectiveness of including women aged 65 or over in the breast screening programme.