Active not recruitingNAINTERVENTIONAL

Extending the National Health Service (NHS) Breast Screening Age Range

The NHS Breast Screening Programme regularly invites women aged 50-70 for breast scans (mammograms) to help find breast cancer early. This study, called AgeX, is looking into whether inviting women aged 47-49 and 71-73 for these screenings could lead to fewer deaths from breast cancer. This is a very large study across England, where some areas are starting to invite women in these extra age groups for screening, while others are continuing as usual. By comparing health information from these different areas, doctors hope to understand the full effects, both good and bad, of screening at these wider ages. This will help the government decide on the best age range for future breast screening nationwide.

At a glance

Status

Active not recruiting

Phase

Sponsor

University of Oxford

Enrolment target

4,000,000

Start

01 Jun 2009

Estimated completion

31 Dec 2031

Breast Cancer Mortality

What is this study about?

The NHS has a special programme designed to find breast cancer early, called the Breast Screening Programme. At the moment, this programme invites women aged 50 to 70 for a regular breast scan, called a mammogram, every three years. Finding breast cancer early often means it's easier to treat.

Over the years, there have been discussions about whether it would be even better to start inviting women for screening at a younger age, and continue inviting them for longer as they get older. Currently, the government is considering extending the screening age range to include women from 47 up to 73 years old.

This study, often called AgeX, is a very important part of making that decision. Researchers are carefully studying what happens when some areas of England start inviting women aged 47-49 and 71-73 for breast screening, while other areas stick to the current 50-70 age range. By looking at information already collected by the NHS, they hope to get a clear picture of how extending the screening age affects women's health, particularly whether it helps to reduce deaths from breast cancer. This will help make sure that any future changes to the screening programme are based on the best possible evidence.

Key takeaways

The study explores extending NHS breast screening to women aged 47-49 and 71-73.
Its main goal is to see if earlier and later screening reduces breast cancer deaths.
Entire breast screening units, not individuals, are randomly included in the study.
If your area is involved, you might get an invitation if you're in the extended age group.
You always have the choice to accept or decline any screening invitation.
The results will help the government decide on future breast screening ages.

Who may be eligible?

This study is for women in England who are either aged 47, 48, or 49, or aged 71, 72, or 73.

To be part of the AgeX study, you also need to be registered with a breast screening unit that is taking part in the study. Most breast screening units across England are involved in this work.

If you don't fit into these age groups or your local unit isn't participating, you wouldn't be part of this particular study. However, you would still be included in the standard NHS breast screening programme if you are aged 50-70.

Quick self-check

Are you a woman?
Are you currently aged 47, 48, 49, 71, 72, or 73?
Do you live in England?
Is your local breast screening unit participating in the study (most are)?

This is a guide only — the research team will confirm whether you can take part.

What does participation involve?

As a patient, you generally won't need to do anything extra to take part in this study. It's a 'cluster-randomised' study, which means that instead of individual women choosing to join, entire local breast screening units are randomly chosen to either expand their screening age range or continue with the current one.

If your local screening unit is part of the expanded age range group, you might simply receive an invitation for breast screening if you fall into the 47-49 or 71-73 age brackets. This invitation would be just like the standard invitations sent to women aged 50-70. If you receive an invitation, you can choose whether or not to attend, just as you normally would. The study primarily uses existing NHS health records to track outcomes, so there are no additional appointments, medications, or extra assessments required from you as a participant by the study itself. The total duration of the study is ongoing, as researchers continue to collect and analyse data to understand the long-term effects.

Potential risks and benefits

The main potential benefit of this study is that it could help us understand if extending breast screening to younger and older women saves more lives from breast cancer. This information could lead to improvements in the national screening programme for everyone. For individual women, if you are invited for screening within the study and choose to attend, you might benefit from earlier detection of breast cancer. However, all screenings have potential downsides, such as the worry that can come from being called back for more tests (even if it turns out to be nothing serious), or in very rare cases, finding a slow-growing cancer that might never have caused a problem. You always have the right to decline a screening invitation if you receive one, without it affecting your usual NHS care.

Locations (1)

Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Richard Doll Building, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive
Oxford, United Kingdom

Common questions

What is breast screening?

Breast screening, or a mammogram, is an X-ray of your breasts to look for early signs of cancer, often before you or a doctor could feel a lump.

Who is currently invited for breast screening in the UK?

In England, women aged 50 to 70 are currently invited for breast screening every three years as part of the National Health Service (NHS) programme.

How is this study different from regular screening?

This study is looking at whether inviting women aged 47-49 and 71-73 for screening, in addition to the current age range, could be beneficial. It's a research project to help inform future decisions about the screening programme.

Will I automatically be screened if I'm in the study age range?

Not automatically. If your local breast screening unit is part of the 'extra screening' group in the study, you might receive an invitation. You can then choose whether or not to attend.

How does this study help the NHS?

By carefully comparing health outcomes, the study provides important evidence on whether extending the age range of breast screening actually helps save more lives, informing future government decisions about the national programme.