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Latest breast cancer news
You Need Only Annual Mammogram 1/18/2006
Breast cancer statistics
Breast cancer is a major health problem in the United States and other countries around the world. Each year over 200,000 thousand women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States and over 40,000 women die from this disease every year. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death in American women. If we take the younger age group of women in the range of 40 to 55 years, breast cancer is the leading cause among all causes of death. Breast cancer is uncommon among men; with about 1450 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed every year. An estimated 470 males die from breast cancer every year. As per the recent available data the death rates from breast cancer among woman of all ages have declined in the United States by 2.8% every year from 1990 to 2000. The declining death rate may be attributed to the successful screening programs and advances in the treatment of breast cancer.
Risk of development of breast cancer varies among different ethnic groups in the United States. Caucasian women in the United States have about 13.1% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. African American women have slightly decreased risk of development of breast cancer and the lifetime risk of breast cancer among this subpopulation is about 9.6 (Data from SEER). Even though African American women have lower incidence of breast cancer the mortality rate is approximately 28 percent higher in African American women compared to white women.
There has been increasing incidence of earlier forms of breast cancer in the United States. The incidence of the earliest form of breast cancer (DCIS) has increased by about 130 percent over the last few years. It is reasonable to assume that the increased incidence of earlier forms of breast cancer is the direct result of successful screening program.
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