BREAST CANCER

Breast Cancer



Breast Cancer

Introduction

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the world with estimated 1.4million new cases in 2008 (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2011b). Globally, half of breast cancer cases occur in economically developing countries (ACS, 2011b). According to the World Health Organization (2009), breast cancer is the leading cancer killer among women 20 to 59 years of age in high-income countries. In the United States, breast cancer is the secondly leading cause of cancer death for women (Compas, Luecken, 2002).

Background

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide, with more than 800,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed annually, representing 21% of all new cancers in women. Additionally, globally estimates suggest the highest age-adjusted breast cancer incidence rate reported for North America, and Europe, at 99.4 new cases per 100,000 women per year. Breast cancer accounts for nearly one in every three cancers diagnosed among women in the U.K.

However, significant racial and ethnic variations in breast cancer incidence, mortality, and survival have been previously reported. Specifically, breast cancer is a major cause of illness and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women (Parkin, 2001). In the next section, we will examine the increasing number of diagnosed breast cancer cases as a global health issue and also the comparison of different regions of the world regarding the growing issue of Breast cancer.

Discussion

Research suggests the Europe, Britain and United States suffer from disproportionately high breast cancer rates in comparison with other regions of the world. Specifically, the disease of breast cancer is two times higher in Europe than in United States. Mortality rates for breast cancer are significantly higher in the United States than in Europe. Similarly, among U.S. Hispanics, breast cancer mortality rates are higher in New Mexico (18.4-21.2 deaths per 100,000) than in the majority of other U.S. states. These trends highlight potential similarities in risk factors associated with breast cancer that may uniquely affect women residing along different regions of the world (Parkin, 2001).

Among the most important risk, factors that must be considered is the presence of a family history of breast cancer. Family history has been shown to increase substantially both a woman's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and her risk of developing the disease at an earlier age. Studies suggest first-degree relatives (mother, sister, and daughter) of women with breast cancer have more than three times the risk of developing breast cancer that the general population has. In addition, lifetime risk of breast cancer increases with the number of relatives affected by the disease. Women with one, two, and three or more first-degree relatives with breast cancer have an increased risk of 1.8, 2.9, and 3.9 times, respectively, compared with women having no family history. Accordingly, guidelines recommend that women at elevated risk for developing breast cancer undergo regular screening procedures such as annual mammography and adjunct magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at an earlier age than women at ...