Australia tops global breast cancer rates, but mortality declines
Australia and New Zealand face the highest prevalence of breast cancer internationally, a new study has found, also showcasing progress on reducing mortality.
Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of breast cancer in the world, albeit with a strong rise to survival rates, according to an international study.
The study, released by Nature Medicine, shows Australia as having the highest incidence of the 185 countries studied.
The data is likely skewed by Australia’s ageing population, high rates of community breast cancer screening and high rates of comorbidities such as obesity, but underline the rising health burden presented by the world’s most common and fatal female cancer.
The research paper – headed by cancer epidemiologist Miranda Fidler-Benaoudia – did show Australia and New Zealand have reduced breast cancer mortality by 2.1 per cent a year, approaching a benchmark for 2.5 per cent reductions set by the World Health Organisation’s Global Breast Cancer Initiative.
National Breast Cancer Foundation prevention head Nehmat Houssami said the study underlined stark inequalities in the worldwide mortality rates of breast cancer.
“This burden is not spread equally across countries and regions, there are large variations in incidence rates and, more concerning, are the disparities in breast cancer mortality. Countries that are less affluent and have less developed health systems – measured using the Human Development Index in the study – have much worse breast cancer outcomes,” he said
“These disparities in breast cancer deaths are not new, but have become more evident in the current analysis and are predicted to further widen in the future – projected to 2050 – flagging an urgent need for governments, especially in low- to middle-income countries, to invest in providing access to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
“The study also shows that Australia has achieved sustained reductions in breast cancer death rates over the past decade. However, in 2022, Australia and New Zealand had the highest incidence rates of breast cancer globally – there are various reasons for this related to the population structure (for example) ageing and risk-factor profile.
“Breast cancer risk factors that women may be less aware of include alcohol consumption, low physical activity, and post-menopausal obesity. So we need to improve support for women to reduce these … factors.”
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