Women who miss first breast cancer screening at ‘40% higher risk’ of dying from the disease

Women who did not attend a first screening were also more likely not to attend subsequent ones and to be later diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Photograph: pixelfit/Getty Images

Women who miss their first breast cancer screening appointment have a 40% higher risk of dying from the disease, according to a new study.

Experts at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden analysed data for about half a million women across Sweden, with the findings published in the British Medical Journal. The women all received their first screening invitation between 1991 and 2020 and were monitored for up to 25 years.