Hundreds of thousands more women attended NHS breast screening in 2024/25 and thousands more cancers were diagnosed early in England.
New figures show 1.94 million women aged 50 to 70 attended screening within six months of invitation in 2024/25 – up 193,745 from 1.75 million the previous year. Nearly 20,000 cancers (19,291) were detected through screening (9 per 1,000 screened), an increase of almost 16% from 16,677 the year before. Early detection means more treatment options and a greater chance of effective outcomes.
Attendance among women invited for screening for the first time reached 63.6% – the highest level in a decade – and 4.79 million eligible women are now up to date with their breast screening, also a ten-year high. Overall, around 71.8% of eligible women are up to date with screening under the programme’s three-year standard, up 1.8 percentage points on last year.
Despite progress, around three in ten women did not take up the offer of screening. Local services and NHS England are working to improve uptake through targeted outreach in lower-attending areas, reminder texts and expanded use of mobile screening units. The NHS also launched its first national breast screening campaign in February last year, backed by charities including Breast Cancer Now, featuring public figures who shared personal messages to encourage attendance. During the campaign period, NHS breast screening webpages saw large increases in visits and clicks to the screening service finder.
Dr Harrison Carter, Director of Screening at NHS England, said: “Breast screening can save lives. With nearly 20,000 cancers detected early through screening last year, it’s encouraging to see more women attending, especially those invited for the first time, because making screening a habit can help protect your health for years to come. But we know there are a range of reasons why some women don’t come forward and there is much more still to do to support more women to access breast screening. If you receive an invitation, please don’t ignore it. It’s an appointment that could save your life.”
Philomena, whose breast cancer was detected through routine screening, described nearly ignoring her invitation before attending: her mammogram led to early detection of stage 2 breast cancer, enabling treatment that “gave me my life back.” She urges women to prioritise screening, calling it quick, free and potentially life-saving.
Women aged 50 up to the age of 71 are invited for breast screening every three years through local clinics and mobile units. Screening does carry some risks: some women may be diagnosed and treated for slow-growing cancers that might never have caused harm (overdiagnosis), and mammograms do not always detect every cancer (false negatives). Most experts consider the benefits of screening to outweigh these risks.
Read more about NHS plans for breast screening in the programme’s annual statistics for 2024/25.
Additional information
– 3-year screening coverage (screened within 36 months): 71.8% (up 1.8 percentage points on 2023/24)
– Overall uptake (aged 50–70): 70.6% (up from 70.0% last year)
– Invitations issued: 2.75 million (around 10% increase)
– Women screened (routine programme): 1.94 million women aged 50–70 attended screening within six months of invitation (up from 1.75 million)
– Overall screening activity: 2.15 million women aged 45+ screened in 2024/25, a 10.3% increase on 2023/24
– Cancers detected through screening: 19,291 (rate of 9.0 per 1,000 screened)
– First-invite uptake: 63.6%, the highest level in 10 years
– Following the national campaign launch, NHS breast screening advice pages recorded more than 32,000 visits in one week, a 145% increase
– All figures relate to the 2024/25 NHS Breast Screening Programme annual statistics
