They warn of a rising incidence of breast cancer in people under 50, especially in the 20-year-old age group.

Over the past two years, the international scientific community has warned that cancer diagnoses are rising rapidly in people under 50 years of age. A recent study conducted globally over three decades confirmed the trend that had already been identified in previous studies and found There is an almost 80% increase in these diagnoses between 1990 and 2019. While this figure is alarming, its interpretation requires nuance and context since these statistics relate to the total number of cases and over the same period. The world population has also grown by 45%, slightly exceeding the increase observed in the 18 to 49 age group.

Another recent large-scale study (with data from more than 23 million patients diagnosed with 34 types of cancer) led by experts from the American Cancer Society found that baby boomers (over 60 years of age) and Thirty-something millennials have a higher risk of developing a wide range of cancers. (17 types, including breast, pancreas and stomach) compared to older generations of the same age. Among tumor types, incidence rates for those born in 1990 ranged from 12% for ovarian cancer to 169% for uterine cancer, which is higher than for birth cohorts with lower incidence rates.

Now a new study adds evidence about an increase in the incidence of cancer at an early age, this time in the most diagnosed type of tumor – breast cancer, albeit with differences in different regions of the world.

The incidence rates of this type of cancer, which, according to WHO, affects two million people in the world, increased by 1% annually between 2012 and 2021, with the increase being more pronounced among women under 50 years of age. (1.4%) and among Asian American women, according to a new report American Cancer Society. He The largest increase by age over the decade occurred among women aged 20 years and older. whose morbidity increased annually by approximately 2.2%. although, according to Ep., this rate is still very low – approximately 6.5% per 100,000 women – compared to women over 60 years of age.

Some possible reasons used by experts to try to explain the rise in incidence, obesity and unhealthy lifestyle which includes alcohol, smoking, sedentary lifestyle and few hours of sleep. In addition, they can also influence factors beyond a person’s control, such as exposure to carcinogenic chemicals.

A study published in the journal Nature a few months ago proposed a new hypothesis related to the tumor formation process itself, which could only occur due to epigenetic changes (changes in gene function that are inherited), without permanent mutations in DNA.

good news is that American analysis shows that, in general terms, The mortality rate has been reduced thanks to early diagnosis and impressive advances in treatment. Although this is happening unevenly in different parts of the world: in countries with a high human development index (HDI) they have decreased, in contrast to the increase in rates in countries with low HDI.

Every eighth woman

However, analysis shows that A woman’s estimated chance of developing breast cancer is one in eight. This type of tumor usually appears between the ages of 35 and 80, although The age group 45-65 years has the highest incidence. Because this is the time when peri- and postmenopausal hormonal changes occur, the incidence curve continues to increase as a woman ages.

Breast cancer incidence rates in the United States range from From 104-108 per 100,000 in Hispanic and Latino women to 138 per 100,000 in white women. The figure who In Spain, the figure is 132 women per 100,000 inhabitants.

Currently in our country The five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 83%. worldwide, and in the US this figure rises to 91%, reaching even 99% in cases of breast cancer diagnosed at a localized stage, when treatment is usually more effective and less extensive. However, according to a new report, it drops to 87% at the regional stage and 32% at the distant stage.

Variability in incidence and survival by race

Similarly, data from an American study shows that: In the last decade (2013–2022), the death rate from breast cancer among black women has been declining. (1.4% per year), white (1% per year) and Latinos (0.7% per year). Unlike morbidity, there is double difference between racial and ethnic groups in death rateswhich fluctuates between 12-14 per 100,000 among Asian and Hispanic women up to 21 in American Indian women and 27 per 100,000 among black women.

In this regard, the report highlights disparities in incidence and survival rates by ethnicity and race, showing that: In the United States, breast cancer is 5% more common among black women than white women. and these, in turn, are black women Their mortality rate is 38% higher. due to delayed diagnosis and less access to high-quality treatment.

Similarly, American Indian and Alaska Native women have a 10% lower incidence of breast cancer than white women, but a 6% higher mortality rate.