Pilot Study: Age Extension of NHS Breast Screening Programme

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Routine Mammography
• Interventions: Other: Invitation for breast screening

• Registration Number: NCT00890864
• Lead Sponsor: University of Oxford

Brief Summary

The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of randomising the phasing-in of the age extension of the NHS Breast Screening Programme in six volunteer sites in different areas of England.

Detailed Description

Currently all women are invited for breast screening between the ages of 50 and 70. In 2007 the Cancer Reform Strategy announced that from 2012 the NHS Breast Screening Programme would be extended to cover women between the ages of 47 and 73. This means that all women will get two extra screening invitations in their lifetime. It also means that all women will get their first invitation before age 50. As capacity does not allow for full immediate roll out across the whole of England, the age extension will be phased-in with full coverage from 2012. Randomising this phasing-in would provide unbiased evidence on the extent to which it is beneficial to extend the age range for breast screening and whether an extra screen at younger or older ages is more worthwhile. To date there is no clear evidence on this as no trial has looked at the added value of one extra screen within an existing screening programme. This pilot study will assess the feasibility and acceptability of randomising the phasing-in of the age extension in six volunteer sites in different areas of England.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2009-01-26
• Study First Submitted QC: 2009-04-29
• Study First Posted: 2009-04-30
• Study Start: 2009-05
• Primary Completion: 2010-05
• Study Completion: 2010-05
• Status Verified: 2010-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2010-07-16
• Last Update Posted: 2010-07-19

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 36000

Inclusion Criteria

• female, and living in one of the 6 pilot areas, and
• aged 47-49 or 71-73 years, and
• in a screening invitation batch that includes their age group.

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
1	Invitation for breast screening	Women aged 47-49 invited for breast screening
2	Invitation for breast screening	Women aged 71-73 invited for breast screening

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Screening uptake among women invited for screening in the extended age groups	One year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Workload associated with inviting these new age groups for screening	One year
Self-referrals among women in the pilot areas aged 47-49 or 71-73 but who were not invited for screening	One year