Screening for breast, bowel and cervical cancer will be made
quicker and more effective under plans to roll out the use of
digital images to detect cancer.
The Department of Health and Social Care is taking forward the
recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee to increase
the use of digital pathology to examine body tissue samples as
part of screening programmes.
This will help:
- Clinicians to gain second opinions on whether samples
obtained are cancerous.
- Laboratories to work more efficiently and quickly, including
allowing reporting off site.
- Make it easier to identify cancer.
- Speed up diagnosis for patients.
The announcement comes after the NHS expanded the Bowel Cancer
Screening Programme earlier this month, sending out hundreds of
thousands of testing kits for people to use at home to detect
cancer at an earlier stage.
The government has also opened 141 community diagnostic centres
delivering more than five million additional scans, including for
cancer, and earlier this year invested a further £10 million for
28 new breast screening units and over 60 life-saving upgrades to
services in the areas where they are most needed.
Health Minister, , said:
We know the earlier cancer is detected the sooner it can be
treated, and the greater the chances of survival and recovery.
Cancer is already being diagnosed at an earlier stage, more often
and the NHS is seeing and treating record numbers of cancer
patients.
Increased use of digital pathology will help the NHS to go
further and faster and provide another weapon in our battle
against cancer.
In 2020, the UK National Screening Committee was asked by the
National Coordinating Committee for Breast Pathology and by the
Royal College of Pathologists to consider the evidence regarding
the use of whole slide imaging.
This is a technique which allows slides to be reviewed digitally
on a computer screen, rather than with a microscope. The
technology enables an image of the entire glass slide to be
created in high resolution which can then be stored and viewed on
a computer screen or mobile device and saved for later review.
A trial then assessed whether using digital microscopy was as
effective as using microscopes and slides for screening samples
and with results confirming it was, the committee agreed it’s a
safe option to complement or replace light microscopy.
Chair of the UK National Screening Committee, Professor Sir Mike
Richards, said:
We need a high level of evidence when it comes to screening
programmes so, alongside the National institute for Health and
Care Research, we sponsored vital research to assess the
effectiveness of this technique.
Following that research, I’m pleased that the UK National
Screening Committee’s recommendation to allow the use of digital
pathology has been approved. Its use will support flexibility for
pathologists and make sharing samples for second opinions or
quality assurance easier and more efficient.
Some areas of the NHS have been early adopters of digital
pathology but the recommendation published today, and accepted by
the government, will allow the rollout across the NHS.
NHS England is expected to follow by issuing guidance to
pathology teams on the best way to use the technology.
Steve Russell, National Director for Vaccinations and Screening
at NHS England, said:
The NHS’ successful national screening programmes – bowel, breast
and cervical – are saving thousands of lives every year by
identifying people at risk and spotting cancers early.
While we are already using some digital innovations to improve
the accuracy of cancer diagnosis, we look forward to further
utilising digital pathology imagery for the benefit of screening
patients.
The UK National Screening Committee is an independent Scientific
Advisory Committee that advises ministers and the NHS across the
UK on all aspects of screening. They meet three times a year and
consider work undertaken by the sub-groups on various conditions
and existing programmes.
Background:
- The Agenda and draft minutes of the UK National Screening
Committee meeting on 10 November 2023 can be
found here.
