NHS screening miss around 2,400 breast cancer cases a year

MORE than 2,000 cases of breast cancer may be missed by the NHS each year, research shows.

Mammograms are failing to detect cases in women with dense breast tissueGETTY

Mammograms are failing to detect cases in women with dense breast tissue

Mammograms are failing to detect cases in women with dense breast tissue because it is difficult to identify tumours.

We know that breast density is one of the emerging risk factors putting hundreds of thousands of women at increased risk of developing breast cancer

Katherine Woods, UK charity Breast Cancer Campaign

A four-year study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in Texas involved 13,000 women and found that scans detected between three and four breast cancers per 1,000 women screened, which had been missed by mammograms. These figures suggest that around 2,400 cases a year are missed by NHS screening.

Under the British screening programme, women are offered mammograms every three years from the age of 47 to 73.

Katherine Woods, from the UK charity Breast Cancer Campaign, said: "We know that breast density is one of the emerging risk factors putting hundreds of thousands of women at increased risk of developing breast cancer."

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