Hundreds of thousands more women attended NHS breast screening last year and thousands more cancers were diagnosed early in England.

New figures today show that in 2024/25, 1.94 million women aged 50 to 70 attended screening within six months of invitation – up nearly 200,000 (193,745) from 1.75 million the previous year.

As a result, nearly 20,000 cancers (19,291) were detected – 9 cases in every 1,000 women screened – which is up almost 16% on the previous year, when 16,677 cancers were diagnosed through NHS breast screening.

This means thousands more women were able to access treatment earlier, when there are more options available and treatment is more likely to be effective.

Encouragingly, attendance among women invited for screening for the first time reached 63.6% – the highest level in a decade – with 4.79 million eligible women now up to date with their breast screening – also a ten-year high.

Overall, around 71.8% of eligible women are now up to date with screening under the programme’s three-year standard, up 1.8 percentage points on last year.

Despite this progress, the latest statistics from the NHS Breast Screening Programme show that around three in ten women did not take up the offer of screening.

Local screening services are working with NHS England to improve uptake, including targeted outreach in lower-attending areas, reminder texts and expanded use of mobile screening units to bring services closer to home.

The NHS also launched its first-ever national breast screening campaign in February last year to support even more women to come forward.

Backed by charities including Breast Cancer Now, the campaign featured public figures including Victoria Derbyshire, Julia Bradbury and Shirley Ballas who all shared personal messages to encourage women to attend.

During the campaign period, the NHS saw a huge increase in people accessing information online, with tens of thousands of women visiting NHS breast screening pages in a single week and clicks to the screening service finder rising sharply.

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, said she nearly ignored her invitation before deciding to attend: “Encouraging women to attend their breast screening appointment is something that I am extremely passionate about, as I know how much it matters. I’ve lost friends who might still be here if their cancer had been found earlier, and I very nearly ignored my own screening invitation, too. At the time, I didn’t want to disrupt a new job I loved, but that small delay could have cost me everything.

When I finally went for my mammogram, it led to the early detection of stage 2 breast cancer. Hearing those words was devastating, but catching it early meant I had a fighting chance. Treatment was challenging, but it gave me my life back, and it strengthened my commitment to raising awareness about the importance of breast screening in my community.

Screening is quick, free, and could be the difference between catching cancer early or too late. Please make the time for your appointment. Prioritising your health isn’t selfish – it’s essential. My screening saved my life, and it could save yours too.”

Women aged 50 up to the age of 71 are invited for breast screening every three years, with appointments provided locally through clinics and mobile units.

Breast screening does have some risks. Some women who have screening will be diagnosed and treated for slow-growing breast cancers that may never otherwise have been found or caused them harm. Mammograms also do not always find a cancer that is there, but most people feel the benefits of breast screening outweigh the possible risks.

Additional information

• 3-year screening coverage (women 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 the previous year
• overall screening activity: 2.15 million women aged 45+ were 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