The federal government has raised concerns about a “disappointing” fall in BreastScreen participation rates among Australian women aged 50 to 69 years.
The rate among this age group declined from 54.4% in 2012-13 to 53.7% in 2013-14, the most recent year for which figures were available.
Health minister Sussan Ley said participation had reached a national high of 57.6% in 2001-2 following an awareness campaign.
Ley cited the new figures – to be published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on Wednesday – as she called on women in the target groups to ensure they remained up to date with their mammograms in a bid to detect breast cancer as early as possible.
But the broader picture was mixed. Ley pointed to “encouraging” figures showing that participation among women aged 70 to 74 had increased from 25.9% in 2011-12 to more than 40% in 2013-14.
In 2014, BreastScreen Australia extended its target age group to include people aged 70 to 74 years, building on its previous activities directly inviting women in the 50- to 69-year age group to receive free screening mammograms every two years.
The government recently launched a new advertising campaign aiming to increase participation in the upper age group and “maintain the level of participation in the program among women aged 50-69”. The campaign includes print, radio and online ads.
In a statement, Ley said breast screening saved lives.
“These new statistics are of concern and I encourage all women aged between 50 and 74 to ensure they are up to date with their breast screening appointments and to look out for the invitation as we know the more Australian women who are screened, the more cancers that are detected,” she said.
“It could literally save your life.”
Ley said other figures released on Wednesday showed participation in the National Cervical Screening Programme had remained steady at 57.8%.