In 2022, approximately 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide, causing 670,000 deaths (6.9% of total cancer deaths).
Breast cancer develops in milk ducts (ductal carcinoma) or lobules inside the breast.
Salient Points & Global Data
Breast cancer ranked as the most common form of cancer among women in 157 out of 185 countries in 2022. Nearly half of all deaths occurred in Eastern, South-Central, and South-Eastern Asia.
In India, breast cancer caused 98,337 deaths in 2022. Male breast cancer accounts for 0.5% to 1% of total cases.
HDI inequalities: High HDI nations (1 in 12 women develop, 1 in 71 die); Low HDI nations (1 in 27 develop, 1 in 48 die).
Who is at Risk? (Genetic & Environmental)
Risk factors: Increasing age, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol abuse, tobacco, radiation history, early age onset of menstruation / late menopause.
Hereditary genes: BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB-2 mutations dramatically raise lifetime risk, requiring chemoprevention or surgical risk reduction.
Signs, Symptoms & Clinical Stages
Symptoms: Painless lump or thickening in breast, size/shape changes, skin dimpling/redness/pitting, nipple inversion or bloody discharge.
Stages: Stage 0 (In Situ / DCIS confined to ducts); Stage I (small localized tumor); Stage II & III (larger tumor with axillary lymph node / pectoral muscle spread); Stage IV (Metastatic spread to lungs, liver, brain, bones).
Multimodal Treatments
Surgical excision (lumpectomy or mastectomy), Radiation therapy, Stereotactic radiosurgery, Chemotherapy, Targeted therapy, Hormone therapy (tamoxifen/aromatase inhibitors), Immunotherapy (for TNBC/HER2+), and CAR-T clinical trials.