The proportion of women taking up breast screening has fallen to its lowest level for years, according to figures published yesterday.
Fewer than two thirds of women now respond to invitations for screening, according to the figures.
The figures may reflect recent controversy about the benefits and harms of screening.
In the year from 2014 to 2015, just 63.3% of women aged between 50 and 70 responded to their first invitation for screening, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
This compared with 70.1% ten years earlier – and was the fourth year when uptake fell.
Some 2.11 million women were screened during the year, a numerical increase on the previous year when 2.08 women were screened.
Some 18,000 women had cancer detected during the year and 40.5% of these involved cancers too small to detect by hand, the figures show.
Rachel Rawson, from Breast Cancer Care, said: “These interesting figures show an increasing proportion of women invited to attend breast screening for the first time are not going. There is ongoing confusion about the benefits and risks of screening, which can understandably make women anxious about attending.
“Mammograms are the most reliable way of detecting breast cancer sooner – it is estimated screening prevents 1,300 deaths from breast cancer each year.
"However screening does have limitations – some women go through gruelling treatment for cancers which may never have gone on to cause them harm. We must ensure that all women, especially those considering whether to attend a screening for the first time, have access to clear information so they can make the best choice for them.”
HSCIC statistician Pritpal Rayat said: “These statistics show the falling proportion of women at the younger end of the programme’s target group who are being screened after they get their first invitation. I hope the report can help women, health professionals, campaigners and others to understand how the programme is working and areas for future focus.”
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