Screening of the population for breast cancer

In the UK, screening the female population for breast cancer has had a significant impact on survival. The quality of the screening service provided in the UK is improving continually, with increased sensitivity and reduced rates of non-surgical diagnoses. The results of screening have exceeded the initial expectations of the service, where an improvement in disease-specific survival of 25% was anticipated; the figure achieved was 30–40%. Improvements in screening technology may mean that patients may expect even better long-term survival.