Fourteen women are undergoing treatment for breast cancer after being wrongly given the all-clear due to screening mistakes by a radiologist, health bosses said yesterday.

The cases were uncovered after internal monitoring of the breast screening services at East Lancashire NHS Trust which raised concerns about one consultant radiologist's work at Accrington Victoria Hospital. The regional Quality Assurance team then carried out a full independent review.

The Trust said 355 mammograms were reassessed and, after further checks, 14 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer while four other cancer cases were also discovered.

It did not say whether the delay would affect the women's prognosis but did confirm that the four other women, who were confirmed to have abnormal cells in the milk ducts which had not spread to other breast tissue, would not be affected.

"On behalf of the Trust, I would like to apologise for any distress and anxiety this incident has caused," said Rineke Schram, the Trust's medical director.

"The women involved are being kept fully informed of the situation." The consultant radiologist who made the screening errors has not worked since April 2009, and has not carried out breast screening assessment work since December 2008, the Trust said.

All the affected women who might have been affected have now been contacted by health officials.

"I would like to reassure all women who visit East Lancashire hospitals for initial mammograms that our concerns relate only to the secondary tests following screening by one individual doctor," Dr Schram said.

Ellis Friedman, regional director of the Breast Screening Quality Assurance Programme, said the service in East Lancashire was safe and did meet national quality standards.