Breast cancer continues to be the most common cancer in Canadian women, representing 28% of all cancer cases in Canadian women.
One in nine Canadian women is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime (this means by age 90), and 1 in 29 will die of it.
This overview of breast cancer in Canada provides information on rates of incidence, prevalence, survival , mortality, breast cancer in younger women and trends.
Breast cancer incidence is the number of new cases diagnosed in a population over a specific time period.
- Female breast cancer incidence rates appear to be fairly consistent across Canada.
- In 2011, an estimated 23,400 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer, an increase of 200 from 2010. On average, 450 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every week.
- Nearly 20% of all new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Canadian women under age 50, and an estimated 80% of all new cases will be diagnosed in Canadian women over 50.
- For 2011, the estimated number of new cases of breast cancer in Canadian women by age will be the following:
- 6,500 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women age 70+.
- 6,200 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women 60–69.
- 6,300 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women 50–59.
- 3,500 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women 40–49.
- 965 breast cancer cases diagnosed in women under the age of 40
- In 2011, an estimated 190 men in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Men with breast cancer make up a little less than one per cent of all breast cancer cases.
Breast cancer prevalence is the number of people in a population living with breast cancer at a specific point in time. Based on the most recent prevalence data, we can estimate that approximately 152,733 Canadian women alive today have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the previous 10 years.
At present, the five-year relative survival rate for female breast cancer in Canada is 88% (79% for men), which means that women diagnosed with breast cancer have an 88% likelihood of living for five years after their diagnosis.
- In 2011, an estimated 5,100 women and 55 men will die of breast cancer in Canada. On average, 98 Canadian women will die of breast cancer every week. This is lower than the 2009 estimate (100).
- Breast cancer accounts for 14% of all cancer deaths in Canadian women:
- 90% of all breast cancer deaths in Canada are in women over age 50.
- 10% of all breast cancer deaths in Canada are in women under 50.
- Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer in cause of cancer deaths in women.
- Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Canadian women 30–39 years of age.
- An estimated 4,465 or 20% of all new cases of breast cancer in Canada in 2011 will be diagnosed in women under age 50
- Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in Canadian women; however, it is the leading cause of cancer death in Canadian women 30–39 years of age.
- 10% of all breast cancer deaths in Canada are in women under 50.
- Since 1999, the incidence of breast cancer in Canada has stabilized.
- There is cause to be optimistic. Breast cancer death rates have declined significantly. Since 1986, the breast cancer death rate in Canada has fallen by more than 35% and is currently the lowest it has been since 1950.
- The significant improvement in survival rates for women with breast cancer since the mid-1980s is likely a result of increased screening and advances in treatment.
More Information:
Source
Canadian Cancer Society's Steering Committee on Cancer Statistics. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2011, Toronto, ON: Canadian Cancer Society, 2011. Accessed July 31, 2011.