Breast cancer mortality drops: 7 things to know

While breast cancer incidence increased between 2018 and 2022, mortality rates for women ages 20 to 49 declined significantly between 2010 and 2020, according to new research presented April 29 at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

Researchers studied Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results data of 1,661 breast cancer deaths among women ages 20 to 49 between 2010 and 2020 for their analysis, according to an April 29 news release from AACR.

Here are seven things to know from the research:

1. The mortality data was analyzed by race and molecular subtypes. Subtypes included in the analysis were luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-enriched and triple-negative breast cancer.
   
   
2. Across all races, ethnicities and subtypes, incidence-based mortality decreased from 9.70 per 100,000 women in 2010 to 1.47 per 100,000 women in 2020.
   
   
3. Non-Hispanic Black women had the highest incidence-based mortality in 2010, at 16.56 per 100,000, and in 2020, at 3.41  per 100,000.
   
   Non-Hispanic white women had the lowest incidence-based mortality in 2010, at 9.18 per 100,000 and in 2020 at 1.16 per 100,000.
   
   
4. Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native women experienced the largest decline in incidence-based mortality in 2018, with a -47.97% annual percent change.
   
   Hispanic women experienced the largest decline in 2017, with a -30.15% annual percent change.
   
   Non-Hispanic Black women experienced the largest decline in 2016, with a -24.15% annual percent change.
   
   Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander women experienced the largest decline in 2013, with a -18.46% annual percent change.
   
   
5. Non-Hispanic Black women had the worst outcomes for 10-year relative survival, while non-Hispanic white women and non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander women had the best outcomes.
   
   
6. Across molecular subtypes, luminal A had the largest decline during the study period, with the largest decrease in 2017. Similarly, triple-negative breast cancer had the largest decline in 2018.
   
   
7. The significant drops seen after 2016 “likely reflect advancements in treatment options, greater uptake of precision medicine, and expanded access to care and screening in women ages 40-49,” Adetunji Toriola, MD, PhD, from the department of surgery, division of public health sciences and Siteman Cancer Center at St. Louis-based Washington University School of Medicine, said in the release.