Despite recent\u00a0advancements in breast cancer treatments, new breast cancer cases in women are predicted to rise\u00a0by a third\u00a0globally\u00a0from\u00a02.3 million in 2023\u00a0to more than 3.5\u00a0million in 2050.\u00a0Similarly, yearly deaths from the disease\u00a0are\u00a0projected to surge\u00a044%,\u00a0from around 764,000\u00a0to 1.4 million,\u00a0with disproportionate impact\u00a0in countries with limited resources, according to a\u00a0major new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study Breast Cancer Collaborators, published in\u00a0The Lancet Oncology.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Importantly,\u00a0the findings\u00a0suggest that\u00a0maintaining\u00a0a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking, getting sufficient physical activity, lowering red meat consumption, and having a healthy weight\u00a0may\u00a0prevent\u00a0over a quarter\u00a0of\u00a0healthy\u00a0years\u00a0lost\u00a0to\u00a0illness and\u00a0premature\u00a0death\u00a0due to\u00a0breast cancer\u00a0worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Breast cancer continues to take a profound toll on women’s lives and communities,” said lead author Kayleigh\u00a0Bhangdia\u00a0from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, USA. “While\u00a0those\u00a0in high-income countries\u00a0typically\u00a0benefit\u00a0from screening\u00a0and\u00a0more\u00a0timely\u00a0diagnosis<\/a> and comprehensive\u00a0treatment strategies, the\u00a0mounting\u00a0burden of breast cancer is shifting to low-\u00a0and lower middle-income countries\u00a0where\u00a0individuals\u00a0often face later-stage diagnosis,\u00a0more\u00a0limited access to quality care, and higher death rates\u00a0that are\u00a0threatening to eclipse progress in women’s health.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Using\u00a0data\u00a0from population-based cancer registries, vital registration systems, and\u00a0interviews with family members\u00a0or caregivers of\u00a0women\u00a0who have died from\u00a0breast\u00a0cancer, the\u00a0new analysis\u00a0provides\u00a0an\u00a0updated\u00a0global,\u00a0regional, and national\u00a0analysis\u00a0of the\u00a0female breast cancer\u00a0burden\u00a0and risk\u00a0factor estimates\u00a0from 1990\u00a0to 2023\u00a0in 204 countries and territories,\u00a0with forecasts\u00a0up to 2050.\u00a0Importantly, the\u00a0study\u00a0also\u00a0estimates\u00a0the\u00a0number of years of healthy life that women with\u00a0breast cancer\u00a0have lost to illness, disability, and premature death.<\/p>\n Rates of new cases\u00a0remain\u00a0highest in HICs, but growing\u00a0fastest in LICs<\/p>\n Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women worldwide,\u00a0with\u00a0an estimated 2.3 million new\u00a0breast cancers\u00a0diagnosed\u00a0worldwide\u00a0in women\u00a0in 2023\u00a0(with\u00a073%\u00a0or\u00a01.67 million\u00a0cases\u00a0occurring\u00a0in high- and upper-middle-income countries)\u00a0and\u00a0764,000\u00a0resulting\u00a0deaths\u00a0(with\u00a039%\u00a0or\u00a0300,000 deaths\u00a0occurring\u00a0in\u00a0low- and lower-middle-income countries).\u00a0<\/p>\n When global cases\u00a0and death rates are adjusted to account for differences in age\u00a0(to allow comparisons between countries and over time),\u00a0the\u00a0study\u00a0reveals\u00a0striking\u00a0inequalities\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0burden of\u00a0breast cancer.\u00a0For example,\u00a0in 2023,\u00a0breast cancer\u00a0age-standardised\u00a0incidence rates\u00a0were\u00a0on average\u00a0highest\u00a0in\u00a0high-income countries (HICs), including\u00a0Monaco,\u00a0Andorra, France, Germany and Ireland (100\u00a0new cases per 100,000 women\u00a0or higher),\u00a0and\u00a0lower\u00a0in\u00a0low-\u00a0and\u00a0middle-income countries (LMICs),\u00a0including\u00a0Afghanistan,\u00a0Somalia,\u00a0and\u00a0Mozambique\u00a0(13\u00a0new\u00a0cases per 100,000\u00a0women\u00a0or lower)\u00a0in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n However,\u00a0age-standardised\u00a0rates\u00a0of new cases\u00a0have\u00a0risen sharply\u00a0(up 147%\u00a0on average)\u00a0since 1990\u00a0in\u00a0low-income countries (LICs), but\u00a0remained stable\u00a0in HICs, highlighting\u00a0the disproportionate growth occurring in settings\u00a0with lower resources\u00a0(see table 1 in the paper).\u00a0<\/p>\n Moreover, between 1990 and 2023, age-standardised death rates from breast cancer in HICs fell on average 30% to 16 deaths per 100,000\u00a0women, but\u00a0almost\u00a0doubled in LICs\u00a0to 24 deaths per 100,000 women,\u00a0exposing\u00a0likely\u00a0disparities\u00a0in\u00a0timely\u00a0diagnosis\u00a0and\u00a0access to\u00a0quality\u00a0treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Globally, the number of years of healthy life lost due to poor health and early death more than doubled from\u00a011.7\u00a0million years in\u00a01990 to 24 million years in 2023. However,\u00a0although\u00a0women in low- and lower-middle-countries account\u00a0for 27% (around\u00a0628,000) of new cases globally, they\u00a0contribute\u00a0to more than 45% of all the ill-health and early deaths from breast cancer globally (nearly 11\u00a0million years of healthy life lost).\u00a0<\/p>\n