A new study suggests that routine breast screening fails to detect the vast majority of cancers that go on to develop in younger women, with researchers finding that 95 per cent of cases in this group were missed. The finding raises questions about the effectiveness of current screening approaches for younger age groups, who typically fall outside the standard NHS breast screening programme aimed at older women.

The article's full detail was not available beyond the headline finding, but the figure highlights a significant gap in early detection for younger women, who are generally considered at lower risk and therefore not routinely screened. Experts are likely to use such findings to debate whether screening criteria, which are usually based on age thresholds, should be reconsidered.