Almost two-thirds of women now diagnosed with breast cancer are likely to survive at least 20 years, experts predicted yesterday.

Using statistics from the past 30 years, Cancer Research UK estimates that 64 per cent of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in England and Wales will live for 20 years or more - compared with 44 per cent in the early 1990s.

More than seven out of ten women are now predicted to survive for at least ten years, compared with 54 per cent diagnosed in the early 1990s.

Survival in women aged 50 to 69 - the age group in which breast cancer is most commonly diagnosed - was even better.

Among these women, 80 per cent were estimated to live for at least ten years while 72 per cent survived for at least 20 years.

But experts say the true survival rate in the future could be even better, as treatments such as Herceptin help boost women's chances of beating the disease.

Cancer Research UK epidemiologist Professor Michel Coleman said: "Overall, long-term survival for women with breast cancer has improved dramatically over the last ten years and we are seeing even better survival statistics for women in their 50s and 60s."

Prof Coleman said there was still more to be done to reduce the inequalities between rich and poor in terms of treatment and survival.

He also said the UK needed to catch up with much of western Europe in the treatment of cancer patients.

He added that guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on new drugs should be speeded up to make treatments available to women as quickly as possible.

He said survival rates had improved thanks to advances such as earlier diagnosis of breast cancer and a national screening programme.

He also predicted that the survival of younger women would improve in the future.

In the early 1990s, women diagnosed before the age of 50 had a 60 per cent chance of surviving ten years and a 50 per cent chance of surviving 20 years.

These rates are predicted to increase to 73 per cent and 64 per cent for women diagnosed during the first few years of this century.

Professor Tony Howell, a Cancer Research UK consultant medical oncologist at the Christie Hospital, in Manchester, said: "Most women with a diagnosis of breast cancer will die from something else."

Dr Richard Sullivan, director of clinical programme at Cancer Research UK, said: "This is the first time we have been able to predict such a huge improvement in long-term survival figures.

"Women diagnosed today have a much brighter future than those who faced breast cancer a generation ago."

Dr Sarah Rawlings, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "If we want to improve these survival rates even further, then rapid access to diagnosis and treatment are key, but ultimately what we'd really like to see is breast cancer becoming a preventable disease."

Anna Wood, of Breast Cancer Care, welcomed the figures and noted: "The increase in survival rates is due to better early diagnosis of breast cancer and the success of new treatments.

"Crucial to a continued improvement, however, is that all women continue to be breast-aware, by knowing what is normal for them and reporting any changes to their GP immediately."

* October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For information on breast cancer visit www.cancerresearchuk.org/ breastcancer.