Call for earlier screening

Up to 86,000 women in their 30s with a family history of breast cancer should receive annual mammograms, researchers say.

A new study funded by the charity Breast Cancer Now found cancers were picked up in younger age groups than those covered by current NHS screening, which often starts at 40 for women known to be at risk.

The new study suggests screening should be extended to women aged 35 to 39 with a family history at a time when tumours may still be small and the cancer has not spread.

Breast Cancer Now’s chief executive Baroness Delyth Morgan said: “This could be an enormous breakthrough.

“We believe these findings could be practice-changing and urge the government’s upcoming review of NHS screening programmes to set out what further evidence is needed to consider screening for women aged 35 to 39 who are at increased familial risk of breast cancer.”

The research, carried out at 34 UK screening centres, found annual mammograms for women aged 35 to 39 at moderate or high risk of breast cancer detected tumours when they were significantly smaller, compared with a group of women who were not screened.

Experts also found earlier screening meant tumours were less likely to have spread to the lymph nodes – a sign that cancer is spreading.