More women attended NHS breast screening in 2024/25 and thousands more cancers were detected at an earlier, more treatable stage. New statistics from the NHS Breast Screening Programme show significant increases in attendance and diagnoses in England.
Key results
– 1.94 million women aged 50–70 attended screening within six months of invitation in 2024/25, up 193,745 from 1.75 million the previous year.
– Screening detected 19,291 cancers (9.0 per 1,000 screened), an increase of almost 16% from 16,677 the year before.
– First-time invite uptake reached 63.6%, the highest level in ten years.
– 4.79 million eligible women are now up to date with breast screening—also a ten-year high.
– Three-year screening coverage (screened within 36 months) is 71.8%, up 1.8 percentage points on 2023/24.
What this means
Early detection through screening expands treatment options and improves the chances of successful outcomes. The rise in both attendance and cancers found by screening indicates more people are being picked up at an earlier stage when treatment is often more effective.
Work to increase uptake
Although progress has been made, roughly three in ten eligible women still did not take up the offer of screening. NHS England and local services are using several measures to improve uptake: targeted outreach in areas with lower participation, reminder texts, increased deployment of mobile screening units, and national communications. The NHS launched its first nationwide breast screening campaign in February last year, supported by charities including Breast Cancer Now and featuring public figures; during the campaign period NHS breast screening webpages saw a large spike in visits and clicks to the service finder.
Voices
Dr Harrison Carter, Director of Screening at NHS England, said screening saves lives and urged anyone invited not to ignore the appointment, noting there are many barriers to attendance and ongoing work to help more people access screening.
A patient case: Philomena
Philomena, whose stage 2 breast cancer was found through routine screening, nearly ignored her invitation but chose to attend. Early detection enabled treatment that she says “gave me my life back,” and she encourages others to prioritise the quick, free test.
Who is invited and risks
Women aged 50 up to 71 are invited for breast screening every three years via local clinics and mobile units. Screening has potential harms as well as benefits: some slow-growing cancers may be diagnosed and treated even though they would not have caused harm (overdiagnosis), and mammograms do not detect every cancer (false negatives). Most experts judge that the benefits of screening outweigh these risks.
Additional figures from the 2024/25 annual statistics
– Overall uptake (aged 50–70): 70.6% (up from 70.0%).
– Invitations issued: 2.75 million (around a 10% increase).
– Overall screening activity: 2.15 million women aged 45+ screened in 2024/25, a 10.3% increase on 2023/24.
– Following the national campaign, NHS breast screening advice pages recorded more than 32,000 visits in one week, a 145% increase.
All figures are from the NHS Breast Screening Programme annual statistics for 2024/25.
