Breast cancer diagnoses ticking up among young women, Asian Americans: Research

Incidents of breast cancer have seen slight increases in women younger than 50 annually, with the steepest increases in Asian American and Pacific Islander women since 2000, research released Tuesday by the American Cancer Society showed.

According to the report, data from 2012 to 2021 showed that invasive breast cancer incidence rates increased by 1 percent annually, with a steeper trend, 1.4 percent, among women younger than 50.

Research also showed that breast cancer in women under 50 years old has increased by 50 percent in Asian American and Pacific Islander women since 2000.

The research showed that from 2012 to 2021, breast cancer increased by 2.6 percent annually for Asian American and Pacific Islander women. For Hispanic women, it increased 1 percentage point less than Asian American and Pacific Islander women per year, at 1.6 percent. It increased 1 percent annually for white, Black, and American Indian and Alaska Native women, the data showed.

The steeper increase in Asian American and Pacific Islander women may be attributed to the influence of Asian immigrants, who have higher breast cancer risk than Asian women who are born in the U.S., according to the report.

While the increase was steepest among Asian American and Pacific Islander women, the data showed that the highest overall rate of breast cancer is in white women, followed by Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and, lastly, Hispanic women.

According to the report, breast cancer mortality has decreased in every racial and ethnic group since 1990, except for American Indian and Alaska Native women.

The report also showed that the breast cancer death rate has dropped by 44 percent since 1989 due to advances in earlier detection and treatment.

Data also showed that Black women have 5 percent lower breast cancer incidence than white women but 38 percent higher mortality. It attributed this to less access to high-quality treatment and later diagnosis.

Additionally, American Indian and Alaska Native women have 10 percent lower breast cancer incidence than white women, but 6 percent higher mortality rate, data showed.

The research is based on information from cancer data companies such as the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the National Center for Health Statistics, the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.