According to an epidemiological study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, France is the country with the highest incidence rate of breast cancer with 105.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022. Do you think that France’s strategy to fight this cancer is sufficient?
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in France. A national screening program is offered to women aged 50 to 74, in order to start treatment as early as possible and minimize the number of deaths. But according to an epidemiological study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Cric), published last April and reported on June 24 by Le Parisien, France has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer in the world with 105, 4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022.
How can such a number be explained? Not by overscreening, “since France also occupies first place among women under 49, i.e. before any systematization of screening”explains the Environnement Santé Network in a press release published last March.
But breast cancer is not the only one that poses a problem in France. While the survival rate for cancer is higher in France than the European average, it lags behind in screening for colorectal cancer. According to the European Cancer Organisation, the screening rate for this cancer is 36% on a European scale, compared to 34.6% for France.
What are the risk factors?
It is perhaps then the environment conducive to certain risk factors which impacts the health of French women. The main factors would be regular and prolonged consumption of alcohol, tobacco, obesity or pollution.
Regarding the fight against smoking, the national objectives are the regular reduction in the number of smokers, as well as the fight against the entry of young people into smoking. This is done through prevention campaigns and the drastic and regular increase in the price of packets of cigarettes. However, there are still 25.3% of daily smokers in France, compared to 18.8% in Europe.
The fight against regular alcohol consumption is less aggressive, with campaigns encouraging pregnant women not to consume alcohol and the promotion of associations to help people with addictions. Today, the French drink an average of 10.5 liters of alcohol per adult per year, compared to 10 liters in Europe.
Regarding the fight against obesity, France expressed in April 2023 its desire to invest in research and innovation, primarily in overseas territories. Much of the effort is focused on schools, where children are encouraged to eat better and engage in regular physical activity.
