Despite a continued decline in the rate of breast cancer deaths in the United States incidence of the disease has increased — especially among younger age groups — and significant race disparities persist, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.
The study, published Tuesday (1st) in CA: A Cancer Journal for Cliniciansfound some good news: The overall U.S. breast cancer death rate fell by about 44% between 1989 and 2022, which translates to nearly 518,000 fewer breast cancer deaths during that period. This is largely due to advances in cancer treatments and early detection of the disease through screening, which is recommended for women at average risk from the age of 40 onwards.
But there were also some worrying news : the incidence of the disease itself increased by 1% per year between 2012 and 2021.
“If we look at the last decade or so, we have seen the incidence of breast cancer increase by about 1% over the previous year, and the intensity of that increase does not affect all women equally in this case,” said Karen Knudsen, director -executive of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
“There is a slightly greater increase in the rate of breast cancer diagnosis for women under 50 compared to those over 50 “, he said. “These are things we are looking at to try to understand.”
One separate study published in January also found that breast cancer incidence rates among women ages 20 to 49 have increased over the past 20 years.
The trend follows a pattern seen recently in other cancers, such as colorectal cancer, in which more people are being diagnosed at younger ages than traditionally observed.
Differences by race and region
For the new report, researchers from the American Cancer Society, Weill Cornell Medicine and Harvard Medical School analyzed data on breast cancer incidence and deaths from the National Cancer Institute and records from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dating back to 1975. They found some significant differences in the data by race and state, as well as age.
Researchers found that black women continue to be more likely to die from the disease, as they had a 38% higher mortality rate than white women, despite being 5% less likely to develop breast cancer.
“If you look more carefully at the mortality data, this is really driven by young women in particular,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society. “If you look at black women between the ages of 20 and 29, their chances of dying from breast cancer are twice as high as their white counterparts.”
Data showed that black women have the highest overall mortality rate. The rate ranged from about 12 deaths per 100,000 women in the Asian American Pacific Islander community to about 27 deaths per 100,000 in the black community.
The report notes that Asian American and Pacific Islander women have had the fastest increase in the incidence of breast cancer each year, both among those under 50, at 2.7% per year, and among women with 50 years or more, with 2.5% per year.
“The acceleration of breast cancer incidence rates among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is particularly disturbing. Emerging data suggest that some genetic mutations that predispose to breast cancer may result in a greater risk among Asian women compared with white women,” wrote Ruth Carlos, professor of radiology and clinical research assistant at the University of Michigan, who was not involved in the new report, in an email to CNN .
“It is disappointing that the results appear static for Black/African American women,” she added. “Several research groups are investigating the biological effects of structural discrimination on the development of breast cancer.”
Some geographic variation also emerged in the data. The researchers found that the incidence of breast cancer ranged from 113 cases per 100,000 women in Nevada to about 143 per 100,000 in North Carolina.
Another geographic gap was found in the breast cancer death rate, ranging from about 15 deaths per 100,000 women in Massachusetts to about 23 per 100,000 in Mississippi and 24 per 100,000 in the District of Columbia.
“Differences by state reflect several factors, including demographic characteristics and the prevalence of cancer risk factors, mammography screenings, and access to care, which is influenced by public health policy such as Medicaid expansion and other laws and programs.” , the researchers wrote.
They project that this year, nearly 311,000 cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the U.S., affecting about one in eight, and more than 42,000 women will die from breast cancer.
The researchers should be “commended” for such a comprehensive analysis of breast cancer trends, Carlos said.
“They discovered worrying trends, especially regarding breast cancer in younger women,” she wrote. “Environmental risks, lifestyle risks and genetic risk factors may be contributing to this increase.”
“We see this every day”
The data in the new report reflects what many oncologists are seeing in practice, said Carmen Calfa, a medical oncologist at the University of Miami Health System’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and associate director of Sylvester’s breast cancer community outreach program, who was not involved in the new report.
“The alarming increase in the overall incidence of breast cancer has been noticed and recorded, and we see this in the office every day when we see patients of all ages, but we see more young people than before,” said Calfa, adding that his youngest patient with breast cancer was diagnosed at age 20.
“We have witnessed and seen patients presenting to us at a higher rate, at a younger age,” she said. “Although we are seeing an increase in breast cancer incidence in younger patients, the trends have been really significant and consistent in other cancers, and that makes us wonder, it’s not just a breast-specific finding.”
Calfa added that many of the risk factors for breast cancer are common to other types of cancer as well, which may provide clues as to why the incidence of certain cancers continues to rise among younger ages.
“The common risk factors are all there, and I think that’s where we have a huge opportunity,” she said. “It’s the lifestyle that includes food, the type of diet, the amount of exercise.”
Other factors that may increase your risk of breast cancer include a family history of cancer, increased alcohol consumption, a biopsy of a high-risk breast lesion, or the presence of a certain genetic mutation.
Some ways to reduce the risk of breast cancer include maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active, drinking alcohol in moderation or not at all, and, for some people, taking medications such as tamoxifen and breastfeeding their children if possible.
“I would also ask that every woman and every man try to understand their own personal risks and be their own best advocate when it comes to prevention, early detection, treatment and ultimately overall outcomes,” Calfa said.
This content was originally published in Breast cancer: cases in women under 50 increase in the USA, says study on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I am an experienced journalist and writer with a career in the news industry. My focus is on covering Top News stories for World Stock Market, where I provide comprehensive analysis and commentary on markets around the world. I have expertise in writing both long-form articles and shorter pieces that deliver timely, relevant updates to readers.
