Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing breast cancer screening for women under 40 with Neurofibromatosis type 1.

The Government is committed to improving cancer screening services in line with the National Cancer Plan and as part of the 10-Year Health Plan’s shift from treatment to prevention.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) affects individuals differently. An individual’s risk of breast cancer is based on a number of factors. These factors may vary throughout a lifetime which is why individuals are advised to seek advice from their health professionals.

Most individuals with NF1 would be considered at moderate risk of breast cancer, which would mean they could be referred to local cancer surveillance programme commissioned via the integrated care boards.

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence’s guidance does not address NF1 specifically but does state that people with certain genetic conditions should be referred through to a geneticist to consider their risk and may qualify for annual breast screening between the ages of 40 and 50 years old.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which advises the Government on all screening matters, has never been asked to look at creating a separate programme for women with NF1. Any individual or organisation can submit a proposal during the committee’s three-month open call for topics.

The UK NSC will consider whether the proposal is within the UK NSC remit and, if so, how the topic should be explored further.