Identification and Referral Service of VHRW Following Radiotherapy

NHS England is to conduct market engagement to obtain input and feedback in preparation for a potential Identification and Referral Service of Very High Risk Women Following Radiotherapy.

The VHR cohort are currently identified and referred into the NHS Breast Screening Programme via clinical genetics services, clinical oncologists, and the service commissioned by NHS England from the Breast screening After Radiotherapy Dataset Group (BARD).

Patients cured of a first cancer at a young age are at an increased risk of developing a second primary breast cancer. This is demonstrated in female survivors of Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) who received radiotherapy to breast tissue under the age of 36 and whose subsequent risk of breast cancer is raised.

There will be a small number of women who have received radiotherapy to breast tissue as part of a treatment plan for diagnoses other than lymphoma. Current national guidelines recommend that screening should start 8 years after radiotherapy to breast tissue or at age 25 or 30 (depending on circumstances), whichever occurs later.

In 2022/23, 10,493 women were screened within the NHSBSP VHR pathway.