Review of NHS breast cancer screening announced

A review of breast cancer screening in the UK will take place after research showed the current system could result in people undergoing surgery when they do not need it.

Breast cancer screening currently costs in the region of £96 million, but Professor Mike Richards, who is the UK's national clinical director for cancer and end of life care, has called for a review of the programme to ensure it is not putting people at risk.

In a letter published on the British Medical Journal's website, Professor Richards said: "Should the independent review conclude that the balance of harms outweighs the benefits of breast screening, I will have no hesitation in referring the findings to the UK National Screening Committee and then ministers."

His comments come after researchers from the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Denmark claimed that women given mammograms were not being told about the risk of over-diagnosis or misdiagnosis.

Under current NHS screening rules, women aged between 50 and 70 are offered seven chances to undergo breast cancer screening.