Breast cancer stands as the most prevalent cancer among women in the United States, second only to skin cancers. It’s estimated that breast cancer accounts for approximately 30%, or 1 in every 3, of all new cancer diagnoses in women each year.
To give a clearer picture of the scale of breast cancer in the US, the American Cancer Society provides the following projections for 2025:
- Approximately 316,950 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women.
- Around 59,080 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are anticipated.
- Sadly, it’s estimated that 42,170 women will lose their lives to breast cancer.
Breast cancer is more frequently diagnosed in women who are middle-aged and older. The median age at diagnosis is 62 years old, meaning that half of women diagnosed with breast cancer are 62 or younger when they receive their diagnosis. It is less common for women under the age of 45 to be diagnosed with this disease.
What’s the Lifetime Risk of Breast Cancer?
Looking at the bigger picture, about 13% of women in the United States will develop breast cancer at some point during their lifetime. This translates to a 1 in 8 chance of a woman being diagnosed with breast cancer. Conversely, this also means there’s a 7 in 8 chance that a woman will not develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
Breast Cancer Incidence Rates: What are the Trends?
Over recent years, we’ve seen a slight increase in breast cancer incidence rates, about 1% each year. This increase is slightly more pronounced in women under 50, at around 1.4% annually. Experts believe this trend may be linked to factors such as increased rates of excess weight, fewer women having children, or women having their first child after the age of 30.
Breast Cancer Mortality: Trends in Death Rates
Breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in women, with lung cancer being the only cancer responsible for more deaths annually. For any given woman, the chance of dying from breast cancer is approximately 1 in 43, or about 2.3%.
However, there’s good news: breast cancer death rates have been consistently declining since 1989. As of 2022, there has been an overall decrease of 44% in death rates. This positive trend is largely attributed to earlier detection through improved screening methods and increased public awareness, alongside advancements in breast cancer treatments.
Breast Cancer Disparities Across Race and Ethnicity
It’s important to acknowledge that breast cancer affects different racial and ethnic groups in varying ways:
- Black women experience the highest breast cancer death rate among all racial and ethnic groups. This is thought to be partly due to a higher prevalence of triple-negative breast cancer in Black women compared to other groups.
- Across all age groups, Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than women of any other race or ethnicity.
- White, Asian, and Pacific Islander women are diagnosed with localized breast cancer more frequently than Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native women.
- Asian and Pacific Islander women have the lowest breast cancer death rate.
Breast Cancer Survivorship
Currently, there are over 4 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States. This figure includes women who are still undergoing treatment as well as those who have completed their treatment journey.
For more detailed information on survival rates, please refer to Survival Rates for Breast Cancer.
For further statistical data and insights, you can visit the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Statistics Center.
