Breast Cancer Epidemiology

Worldwide:

• Most frequent cancer among women & impacts 2.1 million women each year
• Cause of the most cancer-related deaths among women
• In 2018, approximately 627,000 women died from breast cancer (15% of all cancer deaths among women)
• Breast cancer rates are higher among women in more developed regions, however rates are increasing in nearly every region worldwide

For more information, visit: https://www.who.int/cancer/prevention/diagnosis-screening/breast-cancer/en/

United States

• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women
• About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime.
• In recent years, incidence rates have increased slightly (by 0.3% per year).
• About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer.
• The female breast cancer death rate peaked at 33.2 per 100,000 in 1989 and decreased by 40% to 19.8 in 2017.
• There has been a decline in breast cancer mortality rates since 1989, which have been attributed to both improvements in treatment and early detection by mammography. (http://pressroom.cancer.org/Cancer-Stats2016)

For more information, visit: https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2020/cancer-facts-and-figures-2020.pdf

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/about/how-common-is-breast-cancer.html

India:

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer and has the highest mortality among females in India
• There is an increasing incidence of breast cancer in younger age groups (30-40s)

• India is predicted to see an increase in breast cancer incidence and mortality in the next 2 decades

Brazil:

• Breast cancer  is the leading cause of cancer mortality in women in Brazil
• Sao Paolo City’s breast cancer mortality rate is significantly higher than the national average
• Breast cancer is still being diagnosed too frequently in late stages.
• Several mapping data papers suggest issues of  inequity related to breast cancer early diagnosis and treatment.

For more information, visit: https://ww5.komen.org/uploadedFiles/_Komen/Content/Grants_Central/International_Grants/Grantee_Resources/HSR_Brazil.pdf