Today

Breast cancer screening in East Anglia has reduced deaths from the disease by nearly half, a study finds.

Researchers from Cancer Research UK looked at data from the East Anglia NHS screening programme and found screening cuts breast cancer deaths by 48 per cent.

This is one of the first of a series of studies assessing the impact of the national scheme, which was started in 1989.

Professor Stephen Duffy, lead researcher and Cancer Research UK's professor of cancer screening, said: "The results of our study showed that the NHS breast cancer screening programme has been even more effective at saving lives than we predicted. This is the strongest evidence yet that screening programmes like this save lives.

"We hope to collect data from other regions in the future, allowing us to compare programmes across the UK, bringing the best practices to areas that aren't performing as well."

Professor Stephen Duffy, Cancer Research UK: "This is the strongest evidence yet that screening programmes like this save lives."

Julietta Patnick, director of the NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, added: "The New Year marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of breast screening in England. Huge strides have been made over the past two decades and today, more women than ever before are surviving breast cancer, many of whom have benefited from early detection through routine breast screening.

"It is important we constantly evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and I am delighted that these latest findings show that breast screening can save lives. I hope the study will encourage women to make an informed choice to accept their invitation for screening."

The study is published in the British Journal of Cancer.

All women between the ages of 50 and 70 are currently invited to be screened for breast cancer every three years in the UK.

And the British government recently announced new proposals to extend that age range to include women from the age of 47 up to 73.

Research conducted by Imaginis shows that breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women (after lung cancer) worldwide and is the most common type of cancer found among women in the world.

According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1.5 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.

Earlier detection and better treatments have improved mortality rates in recent years.

The majority of breast cancers will be treated with surgery to remove the tumour.

For more information about breast cancer, visit www.999breastcancer.com.