CANCERFACTSHEETS:BREASTCANCER
Estimatedage-standardisedrates(World)intheworld(per100000)
Males Females IncidenceMortality
WHOSouth-EastAsiaRegion
Moredevelopedregions
WHOAfricanRegion
WHORegionoftheAmericas
WHOEasternMediterraneanRegion
WHOEuropeanRegion
Lessdevelopedregions
WHOWesternPacificRegion
IARCMemberState(24countries)
UnitedStatesofAmerica
China
India
EuropeanUnion(EU-28)
50 0 50100 100
Ataglance
Breastcanceristhesecondmostcommoncanceroverall,andbyfarthemostcommoncancerinwomen.In2012,worldwide,thereareestimatedtohavebeen1.67millionnewcases(25%ofallincidentcancercases).Itisthemostcommoncancerinwomeninbothmoreandlessdevelopedregions,withslightlymore2012casesestimatedtohaveoccurredinlessdevelopedregions(883000cases)thaninmoredevelopedregions(794000cases).Incidenceratesvarybyafactorofnearly4acrosstheworldregions,with2012rates(per100000)rangingfrom27casesincentralAfricaandineasternAsiato96casesinwesternEurope.
Breastcanceristhefifthmostcommoncauseofdeathfromcanceroverall,with522000breastcancerdeathsestimatedtohaveoccurredin2012.Althoughitisstillthemostcommoncauseofcancerdeathinwomeninlessdevelopedregions(with324000deathsin2012;14.3%ofallcancerdeathsinwomeninlessdevelopedregions),itisnowthesecondmostcommoncauseofcancerdeath(afterlungcancer)inwomeninmoredevelopedregions(with198000deathsin2012;15.4%ofallcancerdeathsinwomeninmoredevelopedregions).Thevariationinmortalityratesacrossworldregionsislessthanthevariationinincidencerates,duetobettersurvivalinthe(high-incidence)developedregions,with2012mortalityrates(per100000women)rangingfrom6deathsineasternAsiato20deathsinwesternAfrica.
Estimatedincidence,mortalityandprevalence(5years)worlwidein2012
Estimatednumbers Cases Deaths 5-year-prev
World 1671149 521907 17159060
Moredevelopedregions 788200 197618 8273689
Lessdevelopedregions 882949 324289 8885371
WHOAfricanRegion 99760 49061 895005
WHORegionoftheAmericas 408281 92058 4114742
WHOEasternMediterraneanRegion 99284 42228 732587
WHOEuropeanRegion 494076 142979 4909685
WHOSouth-EastAsiaRegion 239612 109631 2040925
WHOWesternPacificRegion 329762 85837 4463736
IARCMemberState(24countries) 934832 256832 9401981
UnitedStatesofAmerica 232714 43909 2373019
China 187213 47984 2549427
India 144937 70218 1125960
EuropeanUnion(EU-28) 361608 91585 3463915
Estimatedage-standardizedrates(World)ofincidencecases,females,breastcancer,worldwidein2012
≥111.9
46.2–65.4
34.0–46.2
24.2–34.0
<4.6
Nodata
Notapplicable
Allrightsreserved.ThedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofthematerialinthispublicationdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartoftheWorldHealthOrganization/InternationalAgencyforResearchonCancerconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.Dottedanddashedlinesonmapsrepresentapproximateborderlinesforwhichtheremaynotyetbefullagreement.
Datasource:GLOBOCAN2012Graphproduction:IARC(http://gco.iarc.fr/today)WorldHealthOrganization
©InternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer2016
Estimatedage-standardizedrates(World)ofincidencecases,females,breastcancer,worldwidein2012
*RegionaldataNORDCAN(www.ancr.nu)ECO(eco.iarc.fr)England:www.ons.gov.uk
*RegionaldataCI5.iarc.fr
*RegionaldataCI5.iarc.frAustralia:www.aih.gov.auNewZealand:wwww.health.govt.nzUSA:seer.cancer.gov
Estimatedage-standardizedrates(World)ofdeaths,females,breastcancer,worldwidein2012
≥28.4
15.2–18.2
13.1–15.2
10.1–13.1
<1.8
Nodata
Notapplicable
Allrightsreserved.ThedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofthematerialinthispublicationdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartoftheWorldHealthOrganization/InternationalAgencyforResearchonCancerconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.Dottedanddashedlinesonmapsrepresentapproximateborderlinesforwhichtheremaynotyetbefullagreement.
Datasource:GLOBOCAN2012Graphproduction:IARC(http://gco.iarc.fr/today)WorldHealthOrganization
©InternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer2016
Estimatedage-standardizedrates(World)ofdeaths,females,breastcancer,worldwidein2012
WHO(www.who.int/healthinfo/en/) WHO(www.who.int/healthinfo/en/) WHO(www.who.int/healthinfo/en/)