The Irish health minister responded to a call for expanding the BreastCheck cancer screening program to include women over 70. Currently, the program covers women aged 50 to 69. Minister Carroll MacNeill stated that under the Programme for Government, the age for screening will be reviewed. The National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) will evaluate whether to expand eligibility to include ages 45-49 and 70-74, ensuring effectiveness and safety in screening processes before any changes are implemented.
In this regard, I am pleased to report that NSAC is progressing work to consider the further expansion of our cancer screening programmes and has submitted a request to the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), which has a section dedicated to undertaking evidence synthesises on behalf of the committee, to assess the evidence for a proposed expansion to the age range eligibility of the BreastCheck programme to include those aged 45 to 49 years and those aged 70 to 74 years.
NSAC assesses the evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria, before making recommendations to myself as Minister for Health.
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