Between 2010 and 2021, breast cancer incidence increased across all disease types and stages, and among both men and women, according to a study published May 12 in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers from New York City-based Montefiore Medical Center, Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, and the Grupo Oncológico Cooperativo Del Sur in Argentina, used Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program data of 761,471 breast cancer diagnoses from Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2021, for the analysis.
Here are seven things to know from the study:
- Of the 761,471 breast cancer diagnoses, 5.8% were stage 4.
- Stage 4 breast cancer incidence among women had an annual percentage change of 1.2% over the study period, from 9.5 cases per 100,000 in 2010 to 11.2 cases per 100,000 in 2021.
Incidence of stage 1, 2 and 3 breast cancer among women increased from 163 cases per 100,000 in 2010 to 177.4 cases per 100,000 in 2021. - Stage 4 breast cancer incidence increased among men as well, with an annual percentage change of 3.7%.
- Stage 4 breast cancer incidence had an annual percentage increase across all tumor subtypes: at 2% for hormone receptor-postive/ERBB2-negative, 1.6% for HR-positive/ERBB2-positive, 1.3% for HR-negative/ERBB2-positive and 2.7% for triple-negative disease.
- The percentage of stage 4 breast cancer diagnoses increased from 5.6% to 6% overall, and across all tumor subtypes: from 4.2% to 4.4% for HR-positive/ERBB2-negative, from 7.5% to 9.1% for HR-positive/ERBB2-positive, from 9.3% to 10.4% for HR-negative/ERBB2-positive and from 6.1% to 7.6% for triple-negative disease.
- Between 2010 and 2021, overall survival among patients diagnosed stage 4 breast cancer improved each year for HR-positive/ERBB2-negative, HR-positive/ERBB2-positive and HR-negative/ERBB2-positive tumor subtypes, though changes in survival were not statistically significant for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
- “Research is warranted to determine factors contributing to increased incidence, including potential changes in natural history of breast cancer, disease screening and incidence and mortality of other conditions,” the study authors wrote.
Read the full study here.
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