Figures released today by NHS Scotland’s Information Statistics Division (ISD) show that both NHS Tayside and NHS Fife have met the national performance standards for breast screening.

Women aged between 50 and 64 are invited for routine screening once every three years.

A UK-wide programme of free mammographic screening was launched after research showed that it could cut mortality rates by up to 30%.

The first screening centres in Scotland became operational in 1988 and there now six static centres and 13 mobile centres.

Statistics are gathered over three-year rolling periods and show that in Tayside, the attendance rate has increased from 74.2% in 1991/92-1993/94, to 78.2% in 2001/02-2003/04. In Fife, the take up of breast screening programmes rose from 71.4% to 75.4%.

The breast cancer mortality rate in women aged 55-69 has dropped from 101.7 per 100,000 in 1990 to 73.6 per 100,000 in 2003 — a decrease of 27.6%.

NHS Tayside consultant in public health medicine Dr Margaret Kenicer welcomed today’s breast screening statistics. She said, “Breast screening makes a very valuable contribution to this downward trend and we encourage women in Tayside to take up the invitation.”

The ISD also released statistics which revealed that cervical cancer in Scottish women has fallen by over a third between 1990 and 2001.

Despite this drop, both NHS Tayside and Fife are slightly below the national average for upatake of cervical screening.

There has also been a fall in the number of smears tested in NHS laboratories across Scotland. This has been caused by the introduction of liquid-based technology, which reduced the rate of unsatisfactory smears and therefore the need for repeat smears.