From 2012 to 2021, breast cancer incidence has risen 1%, with steep increases among young women and Asian American/Pacific Islander women, according to the American Cancer Society.
During these nine years, the incidence rate rose 1.4% per year among women younger than 50, 2.5% among Asian American women and 2.7% among Pacific Islander women. For many cancers, diagnosis rates have been increasing among people younger than 50.
The American Cancer Society compiled breast cancer data from the National Cancer Institute and the CDC. Here are three findings, which were published Oct. 1:
1. Since 1989, breast cancer mortality rates decreased overall by 44% in the U.S., but the rates for American Indian and Alaska Native women have not changed for three decades.
2. American Indian and Alaska Native women have a 10% lower incidence rate than white women, but the former have a 6% higher mortality. Also compared to white women, Black women are 38% more likely to die from breast cancer despite a 5% lower incidence.
3. In 2024, an estimated 310,720 invasive breast cancers will be diagnosed among women in the U.S. Sixteen percent of these cases will be among women younger than 50.