Although it has become less fatal, the rate of breast cancer is rising sharply in the United States, particularly among younger women and among Americans of Asian origin, according to a study

It has become less fatal but the rate of breast cancer is rising sharply in the United States, particularly among younger women and among Asian-Americans, according to a study.

The number of cases increased by 1% each year between 2012 and 2021, against a backdrop of a drastic decline in the mortality rate, falling 44% between 1989 and 2022, the American Cancer Society revealed in its biennial report.

Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in American women and the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, after lung cancer.

About one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetime, and 2% of American women will die from it.

The report shows that, over the past decade, the number of breast cancers has increased more rapidly among women under 50 than among older women (1.4% per year versus 0.7%), for reasons that are still unclear.

At the same time, Asian Americans experienced the fastest increase in breast cancer rates, followed by Hispanics, which the report said “may be linked in part to the influx of new immigrants who are at high risk of breast cancer.

In general, the mortality rate from breast cancer has fallen by 44%, from 33 deaths per 100,000 women in 1989 to 19 deaths per 100,000 women in 2022, or 517,900 deaths avoided.

Not all women have benefited equally from decades of medical advances in treatment and early detection.

The mortality rate has remained unchanged since 1990 among Native American women, while black women record 38% more deaths than white women, despite having a 5% lower number of cases.

These results highlight the impact of “social factors” on health and “long-standing systemic racism which has resulted in poorer access to quality care”.

The authors of the report recommend increasing ethnic diversity in clinical trials as well as partnerships that promote access to quality screening for the most disadvantaged women.

In April, an independent American body issuing public health recommendations estimated that women should start mammograms at the age of 40, rather than 50, and have them performed every two years.