Global Breast Cancer Cases Rise, Indian Spike At 74%: Lancet Study

Breast cancer is the most common cancer globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022. Now a recent report published in the Lancet Oncology says that breast cancer cases are set to increase from 2.3 million in 2023 to more than 3.5 million by 2050. The report also states that annual deaths may increase by 44% from around 764,000 to 1.4 million. The new analysis was conducted by the Global Burden of Disease Study Breast Cancer Collaborators and looked at took data from 1990 to 2023. The findings say that maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking, getting sufficient physical activity, lowering red meat consumption, and having a healthy weight may help prevent over a quarter of healthy years lost to illness and premature death due to breast cancer.

Kayleigh Bhangdia from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, USA and lead author, said, "Breast cancer continues to take a profound toll on women's lives and communities. While those in high-income countries typically benefit from screening and more timely diagnosis and comprehensive treatment strategies, the mounting burden of breast cancer is shifting to low- and lower middle-income countries where individuals often face later-stage diagnosis, more limited access to quality care, and higher death rates that are threatening to eclipse progress in women's health."

Breast Cancer Incidence In India

The Indian Cancer Society says that 1 in every 28 women is likely to develop breast cancer. The incidence of cancer in India has increased significantly since 1990. India reported nearly 2.03 lakh new breast cancer cases in 2023 which is a 477.8% increase compared to 1990. During the same time, the country reported 1.02 lakh deaths, which is a 352.3% increase. When age was standardised in 2023, there were more than 29 (29.4) new cases per one lakh women. This is a 126.9% rise in incidence compared to 1990. Similarly, the age-standardised death rate was more than 15 (15.5) per one lakh women. This shows a 74% increase in the past three decades.

Other than India, several other countries witnessed a drastic rise in breast cancer deaths. Laos had the world's largest increase in deaths (214%). This was followed by Bangladesh (91%), Vietnam (80%), Indonesia (78%), Japan (52%), the Philippines (41%) and China (37%).

Pre-Menopausal Breast Cancer

The report states that three times as many new breast cancer cases were diagnosed in women aged 55 or older in 2023 compared to women aged 20-54 years. However, rates of new cases have risen in women aged 20-54 years old (up 29%) since 1990, with rates in older women not changing substantially. This highlights the change in risk factors of breast cancer, which can differ in pre- and post-menopausal women.

Breast Cancer Risk Factors

There are several factors that increase your risk of breast cancer, and these include modifiable risk factors. Some of the risk factors are high red meat consumption, tobacco use, high blood sugar, high body mass index, high alcohol and low physical activity. There has been progress in reducing global breast cancer burden linked to high alcohol use and tobacco between 1990 and 2023. However, there has been no reduction in burden linked to other risk factors.

Dr Marie Ng, Affiliate Associate Professor at IHME and Associate Professor at National University of Singapore and co-senior author, said, "With more than a quarter of the global breast cancer burden linked to six modifiable lifestyle changes there are tremendous opportunities to alter the trajectory of breast cancer risk for the next generation. Targeting known risk factors through public health policies and making healthier choices more accessible, while working with individuals to take action to reduce obesity and high blood sugar, is crucial to halting the rise in breast cancers worldwide."

Dr Lisa Force, co-senior author from IHME said, "Collaborative efforts are needed to ensure well-functioning health systems capable of early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of breast cancer in all countries. Reducing the cost of breast cancer therapies and ensuring that universal health coverage includes breast cancer care essentials would also be valuable in protecting patients from catastrophic costs and improving outcomes."

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