Breast Test Wales annual statistical report 2022-23

Key messages

Breast screening reduces the risk of dying from breast cancer.
Women aged 50 to 70 are invited for a breast X-ray every three years. Women over the age of 70 are not routinely invited as there is no evidence of a reduction in mortality from screening women in this age range.
Screening can find cancers when they are too small to see or feel. Finding and treating cancer early gives the best chance of survival.
Breast screening is a free NHS test that is carried out at screening centres and accessible mobile units across Wales.
All women who notice a change in their breasts should contact their GP immediately.
Screening will miss some cancers, and some cancers cannot be cured.
Taking part in breast screening is individual choice. Information leaflets are available which can assist in helping with decision making.

Background

This report is a detailed summary of information of the work undertaken by the Breast Screening Programme in Wales for the year April 2022 to the end of March 2023, presenting key data, achievements, and areas for improvement.

The primary aim of breast screening is to reduce mortality rates by identifying breast cancer in its early stages, often before symptoms appear. Women aged 50 to 70 years old who are resident in Wales and registered with a General Practitioner, are invited for a mammogram (X-ray of the breasts) every three years.

Summary of activity in reported year

Over the period 2022/23 the programme increased overall activity, inviting more participants in order to reduce the screening round length that extended following the pandemic. The pandemic impacted breast screening causing a reduction in overall capacity and longer waits for screening invitations.

Achieving uptake and coverage standards remained challenging over this period, however cancer detection rates showed improvement, and a significant amount of the invasive cancers detected were less than 15mm, therefore small and unlikely to have been detected by palpation.

Developments since the reported year

In 2023/24 the programme focused on improving overall timeliness of key programme indicators with particular emphasis on results turnaround times and delivering shorter waits to assessment clinics and the full recovery of the 36 month round length standard.

There are a number of key workstreams that have been progressed during this period including the development of a new demographics system to ensure long term stability of the systems required to identify and invite eligible participants (DEWIS). The fleet of mobile breast screening units and the assessment clinics have completed a comprehensive equipment upgrade and operate state of art mammography systems.

Breast Test Wales is working with Health Boards in Wales to develop a NICE compliant pathway for women at very high risk of breast cancer, ensuring they have access to MRI scans and the appropriate breast screening frequency across Wales.

Headline statistics

This report covers activity in the period April 2022 to March 2023.

As of 31 March 2023 coverage of women aged 53-70 years old was 56.1%.
122,190 women aged 49 years old and above were screened.
151,155 women aged 50-70 years old were invited. The uptake of screening for this group was 69.5%.
4.0% of those screened were referred for further assessment.
1,182 cancers were detected in women screened aged 49 years old and over. This represents 9.7 cases per 1,000 women screened.
Of the cancers detected, 83.0% (981) were invasive lesions.
41.3% (405) of the invasive cancers detected were classified as small (less than 15mm).