§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made on extending breast screening to younger women; and if he will make a statement. [163688]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Forrest report, on which the breast screening programme is based, recommended further research to assess the clinical and cost- effectiveness of offering routine screening to women under 50. This is under way, entitled, "Randomised controlled trial of the effect of breast cancer mortality of annual mammographic screening of women starting at age 40" (the 'Age' Trial).
The main aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of annual mammographic screening of women starting at ages 40 to 41 on mortality from breast cancer, thus giving a definitive answer to the outstanding question of whether population screening below 50 is beneficial or not. The study began in February 1991, and recruitment to the trial has now stopped at 160,000 women. The study costs over £1 million a year to run. As the trial is primarily looking at mortality benefits, full results are not expected before 2005.