Very High Risk Breast Cancer Screening

Very High Risk Breast Cancer Screening

Breast screening for women (or transgender/non-binary individuals with breasts) at very high risk of breast cancer is co-ordinated through the NHS Very High Risk (VHR) Breast Screening Programme. 

Referrals for this are now made by via the NDRS NICPR portal. Downloadable PDF confirmation generated after submission to the portal replaces the Word/paper referral from as of 01/07/2025.

Please go to the government website for guidance and to check eligibility criteria.

Breast screening

Referrals for Very High Risk breast screening are now made by via the NDRS NICPR portal. Downloadable PDF confirmation generated after submission to the portal replaces the Word/paper referral from as of 01/07/2025.

Until the NDRS NICPR portal allows direct electronic referral for VHR screening, the VHR screening confirmation should be downloaded and forwarded to the relevant breast screening service (BSO). The download should also be saved to the local patient record. 

Please use the button below if you are unsure which BSO is relevant for your patient. The excel workbook includes a GP to BSO look up tool.

Clinical genetics referral pathway and contact details

Biallelic carriers of ATM variants can access testing via the NHS VHRBSP.

From now, heterozygous carriers of the ATM c.7271T>G, p.(Val2424Gly) variant can also be offered VHR breast surveillance, but only those with this specific ATM missense variant are eligible

To request screening for carriers of this variant, please use the NDRS NICPR portal download as usual. There is a specific category for this variant to select on the form.

Click button here below to access the workbook

Clinical genetics referral pathway and contact details

VHR breast screening in carriers of ATM variants

Biallelic carriers of ATM variants can access testing via the NHS VHRBSP.

From now, heterozygous carriers of the ATM c.7271T>G, p.(Val2424Gly) variant can also be offered VHR breast surveillance, but only those with this specific ATM missense variant are eligible

To request screening for carriers of this variant, providers can use the standard from and document the variant in the “any other gene” section (see below).

Please make it clear that this is the ATM c.7271T>G, p.(Val2424Gly) on the form so it is correctly entered by the breast units and we can audit it nationally in the future. 

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