Rejected petition I am asking the Government to lower the NHS breast screening age from 50 to 40.

We ask the Government and NHS England to:
1. Review the breast screening age limit in light of new evidence;
2. Pilot routine invitations from age 40–49;
3. Ensure that early detection is available to all women, not only those at known high risk.

More details

Each year around 8,000 women age 40–49 in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer.
The UK Breast Screening Age Trial (NIHR, 2020) showed that inviting women 40–49 for annual mammogram reduced breast cancer deaths by 25% in the first 10 years after screening began, with only modest overdiagnosis.
Countries such as the US, Australia and several EU nations already screen from 40. It’s time the UK reviewed its outdated threshold.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

You may wish to sign the following petition, which calls for similar action:

Lower the age for invites to regular mammograms to 40 & perform annually
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/742179

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 5 October 2025
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