Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing risk assessments using (a) breast density assessment software and (b) other tools during initial breast cancer screening appointments.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is aware of the growing interest in issues related to screening women with dense breast tissue in the National Health Service breast screening programme. In 2019, the UK NSC reviewed the benefit of additional screening with ultrasound after a negative mammography screening, for women with dense breasts. The Committee concluded that there was insufficient evidence to recommend additional screening at that time.

We are aware of the Breast Screening Risk Adaptive Imaging for Density trial which is investigating the use of supplementary imaging techniques for women within the standard breast screening programme who are found to have radiographically dense breast tissue. The UK NSC will review this evidence when it becomes available.