Abstract
Routine programme data and specially designed surveys from 3 demonstration sites were analysed to determine the implications of extending the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP), to include routine invitations for women up to 69 years. All women aged 65–69 and registered with GPs in these areas received routine invitations for breast screening along with those aged 50–64. Overall uptake was 71% in women aged 65–69 compared with 78% in younger women, but was ≥ 90% in both groups who had previously attended within 5 years. Recall rates were lower for older women, but with a higher positive predictive value for cancer. The percentages of invasive cancer in different prognostic categories were similar in the 2 age groups. Older women took no longer to screen than younger women. The costs per woman invited or per woman screened were also similar to those for women aged 50–64, whilst the cost per cancer detected was some 34% lower in older women. Breast screening is as cost effective for women aged 65–69 as for those aged 50–64, with a higher cancer detection rate balancing shorter life expectancy. The proposed extension to the national programme will have considerable workforce implications for the NHSBSP and require additional resources. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.com
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Change history
16 November 2011
This paper was modified 12 months after initial publication to switch to Creative Commons licence terms, as noted at publication
References
Chen HH, Tabar L, Fagerberg G and Duffy SW (1995) Effect of breast cancer screening after age 65. J Med Screening 2: 10–14
Department of Health The NHS Cancer Plan. A plan for investment. A plan for reform. 1–98 (2000). London
Forrest APM (1986). Breast cancer screening: report to the health ministers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, London: HMSO
Fracheboud J, de Koning HJ, Beemsterboer PM, Boer R, Hendriks JH, Verbeek AL, van Ineveld BM, de Bruyn AE and van der Maas P (1998) Nation-wide breast cancer screening in the Netherlands: results of initial and subsequent screening 1990–1995. Int J Cancer 75: 694–698
Galea MH, Blamey RW, Elston CE and Ellis IO (1992) The Nottingham Prognostic Index in primary breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 22: 207–219
Hendry PJ and Entwhistle C (1996) Effect of issuing an invitation for breast cancer screening to women aged 65 to 69. J Med Screening 3: 88–89
Hobbs P, Kay C, Friedman EH, St Leger AS, Lambert C, Boggis CR, Howard TM, Owen AW and Asbury DL (1990) Response by women aged 65–79 to invitation for screening for breast cancer by mammography: a pilot study. BJM 301: 1314–1316
Horton-Taylor D, McPherson K, Parbhoo S and Perry N (1996) Response of women aged 65–74 to invitation for screening for breast cancer by mammography: a pilot study in London, U.K. J Epidemiol Community Health 50: 77–80
Johnston K, Gerard K, Morton A and Brown J (1996) NHS costs for the Breast Screening Frequency and Age Trials. HERG Discussion Paper November No 16,
Johnston K, Gerard K and Brown J (1998) Analyzing center selection bias in a breast screening trial. Int J Technol Assess Health Care 14: 494–504
National Evaluation Team for Breast Cancer Screening Llandelijke evaluatie van bevolkingsonderzoek naar borstkanker in Nederland. 2000. Rotterdam, Erasmus University, Catholic University, Nijmegen.
NHS Executive (1997) Health Service Cost Index (HCHS Specific Price Inflation). Leeds: Department of Health
Rubin G, Garvican L and Moss S (1998) Routine invitation of women aged 65–69 for breast cancer screening: results of the first year at the East Sussex Brighton & Hove Screening Service pilot site. BMJ 317: 388–389
Shapiro S, Coleman EA, Broeders M, Codd M, de Koning H, Fracheboud J, Moss S, Paci E, Stachenko S and Ballard-Barbash R (1998) For the International Breast Cancer Screening Network (IBSN) and the European Network of Pilot Projects for Breast Cancer Screening. Breast cancer screening programmes in 22 countries: current policies, administration and guidelines. Int J Epidemiol 27: 735–742
van Dijck JAAM, Verbeek AL, Hendricks JHCL, Holland R and Mravunac M (1996) Mammographic screening after the age of 65 years: early outcomes in the Nijmegen programme. Br J Cancer 74: 1838–1842
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
From twelve months after its original publication, this work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
About this article
Cite this article
Moss, S., Brown, J., Garvican, L. et al. Routine breast screening for women aged 65–69: results from evaluation of the demonstration sites. Br J Cancer 85, 1289–1294 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1054/bjoc.2001.2047
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1054/bjoc.2001.2047
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Evaluation of extension of breast screening to women aged 65–70 in England using screening performance measures
British Journal of Cancer (2009)
