Hundreds of North women tested for breast cancer now face an anxious wait for repeat screenings after new fears hospital equipment may have missed early signs of the disease.

X-ray scanners have been withdrawn from two North-East hospitals after a case in France where the same equipment failed to pick up an early sign of breast cancer.

Health bosses yesterday were urgently contacting 1,500 women who had been treated at the new hospitals in Hexham, Northumberland, and Bishop Auckland, County Durham, along with 700 treated at a hospital in North Yorkshire.

They stressed that only a small number were at risk - but women who have gone through the stress of waiting for the all-clear after cancer is suspected will now have to wait up to three months to go through the

process again. Last night breast cancer survivor and support group organiser Elsie Grounsell called for the women affected to be seen as quickly as possible because of the worry a potential misdiagnosis could cause.

Bishop Auckland and Hexham both said last night the move was precautionary only, but that it would take three months to offer all the affected women a recall mammogram with different equipment.

Mrs Grounsell, 57, of Linton Road, Whitley Bay, who is now chairwoman of North Tyneside Breast Cancer Support Group, said: "This is a very stressful experience.

"I've been clear for six years but it's still daunting when I go back.

"Time is the most important thing now, and the quicker these women can all be seen, the better it will be because it must be devastating news for them.

"Machines can sometimes go awry, it's unforeseen and it's unfortunate. But this is a very serious situation and the women affected will need to be seen quickly."

Samia al Qadhi, joint chief executive of Breast Cancer Care, said: "We understand that those women who are being recalled following the withdrawal of this equipment will be anxious and concerned.

"It is important for these women to remember that the risk of cancer not being detected as a result of the problem is small.

"However, we would urge all of those who receive an invitation for a further mammogram to attend their appointment."

The recall of patients involves 1,074 who had screening at Bishop Auckland General and 470 Northumberland and North Tyneside women who attended Hexham General. Around 700 at the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, run by the South Tees Hospitals Trust, will also be recalled.

All of the patients involved had attended clinics because they had suspected breast cancer. No patients involved in the National Breast Screening Programme are affected.

The recall came after a case in France where the X-ray digital processing equipment failed to detect microcalcification in a female patient that was later spotted as an early symptom of breast cancer.

In most cases, microcalcification turns out to be harmless, but in a small number of women it can be an early sign of breast cancer.

The equipment - the Agfa Embrace CR(1A) Mammography Processing System, which costs around £50,000 per unit - was withdrawn on the advice of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

It tends to be used in smaller hospitals, and is thought to have been supplied to Hexham and Bishop Auckland when new hospitals opened there over the last two years.

The equipment was in use at Bishop Auckland from June 2002, at Hexham since July 31, 2003, and at Friarage after November 11, 2003. Women who had mammograms before these dates or since June 10 this year are not affected.

The hospitals have made arrangements to continue the normal running of breast clinics with alternative equipment.

Allan Gayner, medical director for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Hexham, said: "Although we feel that it is unlikely that any abnormalities have been missed, we appreciate that this news may cause concern to our patients.

"Therefore we are offering the reassurance of repeat mammograms."

Patients who are concerned about the announcement or those who have changed their address since their last appointment can contact NHS Direct helpline on (0191) 270-5050 for further advice.

The three hospitals are now working with Agfa to correct the problem, which is thought to affect a software package used with the machine during breast screening.

Possible early signs of the illness

Microcalcifications are small deposits of calcium in the breast that can show early signs of breast cancer.

They are also common in healthy breasts, but radiologists are trained to recognize the difference between calcifications of normal tissue versus those of a cancer. These small clusters of abnormal calcium cannot be felt, but can be seen on a mammogram.

Whenever suspicious calcifications are seen on a mammogram, additional mammograms or a biopsy may be recommended to determine whether the calcifications are from normal tissue or a new cancer.

The risk of calcifications occurring are small, and out of every thousand women that have them, only two might have signs of breast cancer.

The faulty test at Hexham, Bishop Auckland and Northallerton was one of three used and hopes are high that nobody will have been misdiagnosed.