Minutes published of UK NSC June 2026 meeting

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has published the minutes of its June 2026 meeting.

Topics discussed by committee members at the meeting included:

• antenatal and newborn screening for cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• adult population screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• placenta function screening to reduce the risk of stillbirth
• screening for iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) in pregnancy
• antenatal and postnatal mental health conditions in pregnancy and new mothers
• targeted screening for pancreatic cancer

Committee members agreed that newborn screening for CMV should not be recommended because there is not enough evidence to show screening would offer clear benefits compared to existing clinical management. However, they asked for more in-depth work to be commissioned on antenatal screening for CMV after hearing that some blood tests in early pregnancy might help identify women with primary CMV infection, which can sometimes lead to serious harm for the baby.

The UK NSC also decided that more work, including engagement with relevant clinical experts, should be carried out into placenta function screening to reduce the risk of stillbirth.

The UK NSC maintained its recommendation against screening for IDA in pregnancy. The committee recognises IDA as an important health condition, but members agreed that the amount and type of international scientific studies are not robust enough to make a positive screening recommendation. So no further evidence work will be commissioned at this time.

Members reiterated their recommendation against screening for antenatal and postnatal mental health conditions. A screening programme cannot work without a good predictive test. Although there was a large volume of evidence, the evidence for individual tests was limited and what evidence there was suggested that the ability of tests to predict illness was not good.

The UK NSC also maintained its recommendation against population screening for COPD. An evidence map found no robust evidence that screening would improve illness, reduce deaths or improve health-related quality of life. As this topic has been examined before with the same conclusion, members decided it should no longer be routinely reviewed and would therefore be archived. Stakeholders can submit an open call proposal for the UK NSC to reopen this topic if new evidence becomes available that is likely to have a significant impact on the recommendation.

A proposal for targeted screening for pancreatic cancer was submitted through the 2024 open call for topics and the UK NSC commissioned an evidence map on targeted screening of people at high risk of the condition. The evidence was limited and the study designs susceptible to bias, which may lead to an inaccurate understanding of its use in screening. The committee decided no further evidence review work should be carried out at this time and any future requests to examine this topic should be made through the open call process.

Chair’s action was taken to maintain the UK NSC’s position not to recommend newborn screening for biliary atresia due to a lack of evidence on test accuracy or improved outcomes following screening. This topic will remain on the UK NSC’s regular review list.

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