Every 1 Minute, 4 Women Are Diagnosed With Breast Cancer, Says Study

As per the recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine, titled Global patterns and trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality across 185 countries, it was revealed that around 1.1 million breast cancer-related deaths are projected to occur in 2050 worldwide. This is a 68% increase from 2022, and the low-income countries will bear the brunt of this increase.

How Was The Study Conducted?

The countries that rank low in the Human Development Index was the metric used to measure a country's overall quality of life. Other factors like expectancy, education levels and standard of living too were considered.

Mirana Fidler-Benaoudia, an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the University of Calgary in Canada, who led this research said, "While incidence rates were highest in countries with very high HDI scores, lower-HDI countries faced disproportionately greater mortality, reflecting inequities in early detection, timely diagnosis and access to comprehensive breast cancer management.”

What Did The Results Reveal?

The results indicate that a World Health Organization (WHO) effort to achieve an average annual reduction in breast cancer deaths of 2.5% has not gained much traction. The researchers noted that reducing breast cancer deaths or new causes through primary prevention is possible. However, it cannot be achieved without concerted effort and political will.

“Sustained investment and improvement in early diagnosis and treatment are also urgently needed, particularly in low- and medium-HDI countries, to reduce growing inequities in breast cancer survival and mitigate poor outcomes for the millions of additional women who will receive a diagnosis of breast cancer in the coming years,” they added.

Why Was The Study Conducted?

This study was conducted to provide an update on the progress of the WHO effort, called the Global Breast Cancer Initiative, which was launched in 2021. The researchers analyzed international database called the Global Cancer Observatory that tracks cancer cases and deaths in 185 countries. As a result, it was found that 2.5 million new cases and 670,000 deaths have occurred in 2022 due to breast cancer.

In 1 Minute, Every 4 Women Get Breast Cancer...

The data pointed that in every minute, four females are diagnosed with breast cancer across the world, out of them, 1 also dies. Breast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer among females in 2022, and was among the top five contributors to cancer-related deaths," the researchers noted.

However, it was also found that wealthier nations tended to have more cases of breast cancer, however, the burden of getting the right treatment, etc. is really on the low-income countries. In France, it is 1 in 9 women, while in North America, it was 1 in 10 women who have had the highest lifetime risk of breast cancer diagnosis. The earlier such cases are detected the better the treatment will be. Thus, what is ore important is regular screenings.

The high-HDI countries also have a "greater prevalence of known risk factors, including having no or fewer pregnancies, older maternal age at first birth, less breastfeeding, older age at menarche, excess body weight, physical inactivity, higher alcohol consumption, hormonal contraception and, historically, hormone replacement therapy for menopause,” researchers wrote.

The study also found that the lifetime risk of dying from cancer is highest in Fiji, around 1 in 24 women and in Africa, it is 1 in 47. “Delays in diagnosis and low rates of treatment initiation and completion can be attributed to a variety of systemic, economic and social factors,” researchers wrote.

The study noted that only seven nations have met the WHO goals of decreasing breast cancer deaths by 2.5%:

• Malta
• Denmark
• Belgium
• Switzerland
• Lithuania
• Netherlands
• Slovenia

Can lifestyle changes help avoid breast cancers? experts say yes! You can decrease your alcohol intake by 4 to 16%, obesity by 8 to 28%, increasing physical activity from 2% to 20$, and hormone medication use around 3%.

The study noted that another 4% breast cancer cases could be prevented by increasing breastfeeding.