Breast screening: interval cancers
How to report, classify and monitor interval cancers and cancers following previous assessment.
Applies to England
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Interval cancers are cancers that are diagnosed in between screening episodes only within the routine population and very high risk NHS breast screening programmes. The management of women screened through family history services is governed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.
This document provides advice for services on:
- reporting, classification and monitoring of interval cancers
- how to carry out reviews for cancers that occur following a previous assessment
See Breast screening: interval cancers and duty of candour toolkit for guidance on the role of breast screening and symptomatic services in identifying interval cancers and giving results to women.
Updates to this page
Published 8 August 2017Last updated 11 November 2024 + show all updates
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This guidance has been revised specifically to clarify the following points: • the requirement for a nominated lead in the service to coordinate the identification of ICs and the review process. This is to provide improved oversight of interval cancer monitoring and audit. • a change to inform that the full pathology dataset for ICs (IC collection form 3) is no longer mandatory. These data may be obtained from other sources so duplication is not required. • the requirement for data entry on ICs to be checked by a second person. This is to ensure that data entry is robust and valid. • how to classify ICs from previous assessment where the woman has declined diagnostic procedures. This helps to clarify the categorisation of interval cancers. • how to classify ICs where assessment was undertaken at a different service to where screening occurred. This helps to clarify the categorisation of interval cancers. • how to categorise previously assessed cancers where the IC arose at the same site and side which was assessed but screening assessment was adequate. This helps to clarify the categorisation of interval cancers. • that trainees (Fellows) are not allowed to undertake previous assessment reviews (PARs). This clarification is to ensure that PARs are performed by experienced staff. • the arrangements for IC review where support is required from other services. This is to provide guidance for services where capacity for interval cancer review is limited. • the new process of local annual learning reviews of ICs led by the director of breast screening. This is to ensure that services regularly audit performance in relation to interval cancers with appropriate oversight by the screening director. • the dates for when Duty of Candour applies to ICs in the programme. This information is for information purposes to allow services to comply with this statutory legislation and had previously been circulated to services as advice but had not been incorporated into guidance.
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Added information to 'Overview' section to explain that the management of women screening through family history services is governed by NICE guidance.
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Guidance updated after programme review.
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First published.