(From left) Carrie Rochman, MD, and Maria Reyes-Matos, MD
A new report from the American Cancer Society released earlier this month reveals an increase in breast cancer diagnoses among women under 50. Researchers found breast cancer diagnosis rates increased year over year between 2012 and 2021 by about 1.4% per year.
However, racial disparities in diagnoses and survival rates persist, especially among American Indian and Alaska Native women, whose rates have remained the same during the past three decades.
The study also found survival rates are increasing, with breast cancer-related deaths decreasing by 44% since 1989 – approximately 517,900 fewer deaths in total, according to estimates.
The American Cancer Society report, which comes out every two years, is helpful for doctors to keep up with breast cancer trends in the United States, said Carrie Rochman, MD, a diagnostic radiologist at UVA Health specializing in mammograms and breast cancer screening.
“The increasing rates of breast cancer in young women is certainly alarming,” she said. “And we don’t know what’s causing it.”
Two things have changed during the past few decades: more people are getting screened, and the methods of detection are improving, said Maria Reyes-Matos, MD, a resident in the University of Virginia School of Medicine specializing in surgical oncology.
“The incident rates are partly higher because we’re detecting the cancer earlier, faster and with better imaging than we had in the past,” she said. “In addition to earlier detection, risk factors are also changing and affect incidence rates.”
Read the full article in UVA Today.
Filed Under: Research