Independent Review October 2012

Breast cancer screening was introduced in the UK in 1988 and was one of the first breast screening services in the world. However the rationale and justification for screening is always under scrutiny. In 2011, an independent research project was set up to find out how effective the NHS Breast Screening Programme is at saving lives. The review panel included a breast cancer patient experienced in representing the needs of cancer patients, and experts in medical statistics, research, and breast cancer treatment.

The findings of this project were published in October, 2012. The report concludes that the UK breast screening programme confers significant benefit and should continue. More details of the review and its findings can be found here. The full paper published in the journal 'Nature' can be found here.