MANY lives have been saved because almost 300 tiny breast cancers were detected in women in the North-East and North Yorkshire in a year, according to the Health Secretary.

John Reid hailed major improvements to the screening programme that allowed tumours smaller than 15mm, to be diagnosed.

Mr Reid said: "It would have been impossible to catch cancers this small without women going through the screening programme."

Tiny breast cancers were detected in 294 women in the North-East and North Yorkshire in 2003/04, according to new figures.

A total of 717 cancers were diagnosed in the same period - 134 in County Durham, 278 in Northumberland Tyne and Wear and 305 in North and East Yorkshire.

Across England, the number of cancers detected by breast screening rose by 14 per cent in 2003/4 from the previous year, to 11,227.

Mr Reid said the increase was largely due to the introduction of two-view mammography, which allowed two views of each breast to be taken during a screening.

An extra £11.5m was invested in extending the screening programme to women aged 65 to 70, as well as a further £11.4m for equipment.

Mr Reid said: "Nearly half of these 11,000 cancers wouldn't have been detected at all without screening. That is why it is so important that women take up their invitation for breast screening."

There is free screening every three years for all women aged 50 and over.