Breast cancer in Australia
October 10, 2012
THE number of new breast cancer
cases has more than doubled in the
last thirty years from 5,300 in 1982
and 13,600 in 2008, according to
new research by the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare.
The report, titled Breast cancer in
Australia: an overview, found that
on average 37 Australian women
are diagnosed with breast cancer
every day, with the disease now the
most common cancer affecting
Aussie women.
Interestingly, the report noted a sharp
increase in the incidence rate of
breast cancer between 1990 and 1995,
after which the rate has been stable.
This spike however, has been
attributed to the introduction of
the national breast cancer
screening program in 1991.
Meanwhile, looking at the disease
rates, the research also found that
the majority of cases (69%) are
diagnosed in women aged 40-69.
Looking forward, the report
forecast that the number of women
diagnosed with breast cancer will
rise, due in large part to the ageing
population.
“Our projections indicate that in
2020 about 17,200 new breast
cancers will be diagnosed in Australia,
this would equate to 47 women
being diagnosed every day,” said
AIHW spokesperson Anne Bech.
Meanwhile, on a more positive note,
the report found that survival from
breast cancer continues to improve
in Australia, due to both earlier
diagnosis and better treatments.
According to the report, between
the periods 1982-1987 and 2006-
2010, the five-year relative survival
from breast cancer increased from
72% to 89%.
Despite this, researchers noted a
disparity between survival rates of
women from different regions and
socioeconomic levels.
“Some population groups in
Australia have lower survival than
others, such as women living in
remote and very remote areas of
Australia, those living in lower
socio-economic areas and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
women,” the report said.
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