While breast cancer rates for women aged 20 to 49 have gradually grown over the past 20 years, mortality from all forms of the disease and in all racial and ethnic groups have declined significantly from 2010 to 2020 with an even bigger dip in deaths after 2016, according to data presented at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Chicago.
Breast Cancer Research and Screening
Greater access to screening, advancements in treatment options, and a movement toward precision medicine all likely drove the decrease in mortality.
For instance, the drug Herceptin has been effective for forms of breast cancers with tumors expressing a particular protein (HER2 positive). Another class of drugs (CDK4/6 inhibitors), which work with the endocrine system to target a form of breast cancer (HER2-negative) not receptive to Herceptin may have added to the decline in mortality. The approval of CDK4/6 inhibitors matches the years in which deaths from that form of cancer began to drop more sharply.
One takeaway from the study? Research and screening make a difference, according to Adetunji Toriola, a physician and researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who reported the results at the conference.
“We must continue to perform impactful research to ensure further reduction in breast cancer mortality, including research into understanding the tumor biology and molecular mechanisms driving carcinogenesis and treatment response in younger women,” Toriola said in a press release. “Additionally, we must encourage and provide access to population-based screening in women ages 40-49 and targeted screening in younger high-risk women, and advocate for access to high-quality treatment and care for all women.”
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Breast Cancer Survival Rates
The data revealed differences in survival for some forms of breast cancer, varying by age and ethnicity. There was one surprise: women aged 40 to 49 had a higher survival rate then the women in the 20 to 39 age group for the subtype (luminal A) with the highest overall decline in mortality rate.
“This was unexpected as luminal A is generally the least aggressive subtype with the most favorable prognosis,” Toriola said. “This requires confirmation in other studies but may suggest that luminal A tumors in women ages 20-39 may represent a more biologically heterogeneous and potentially aggressive subgroup.”
Also, although mortality decreased in women of all races and ethnicities, the data still showed some disparities. Non-Hispanic White women had the highest survival rate, which Non-Hispanic Black women had the lowest.
“We have made tremendous advances in reducing mortality from breast cancer in young women but there are still opportunities for improvements, especially in relation to eliminating disparities,” Toriola said.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
JAMA Network. Breast Cancer Incidence Among US Women Aged 20 to 49 Years by Race, Stage, and Hormone Receptor Status
Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.
