Breast cancer is advancing in the USA, but is less lethal – 01/10/2024 – Equilíbrio e Saúde

Breast cancer numbers are increasing considerably in the United States, driven by the increase among younger women and Americans of Asian origin, although the disease has become less lethal, according to a study published this Tuesday (1st).

The number of cases increased by 1% each year between 2012 and 2021, in a context of a drastic drop in the mortality rate, which fell 44% between 1989 and 2022, revealed the American Cancer Society in its biannual report.

Breast cancer is the second most diagnosed type of cancer among American women and the second leading cause of cancer death, behind lung cancer.

Approximately one in eight American women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetime, and one in 43, or 2%, will die from the disease.

In the last decade, according to the report, breast cancer rates have increased more rapidly among women under 50 than among older women — 1.4% per year versus 0.7% annually — for reasons that are not yet clear. are clear at first glance.

By ethnic group, Asian American women recorded the fastest increase in incidence, followed by Hispanic women, which, according to the document, “may be related in part to the influx of new immigrants, who have an elevated risk of breast cancer.” breast.”

Overall, the breast cancer death rate decreased by 44%, from 33 deaths per 100,000 women in 1989 to 19 deaths per 100,000 in 2022, which translated into about 517,900 deaths prevented.

But despite decades of medical advances in treatment and early detection, the benefits are felt unevenly.

Mortality has remained unchanged since 1990 among Native Americans, while among black women there are 38% more deaths than among white women, despite having 5% fewer cases.

These findings draw attention to the impact of social factors on health and “long-standing systemic racism that has given way to less access to quality care.”

The authors recommend increasing the racial diversity of clinical trials, as well as establishing associations that boost access for disadvantaged women to high-quality screening tests.

In April, an independent American medical organization suggested that women start getting mammograms at age 40, rather than 50, and that they undergo screening every two years.

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