Breast cancer cases have more than doubled in two decades

Cancer is one of the most troubling diseases in India. Among all cancers, it was revealed that breast cancer is top killer among women and lung cancer among men.

An international consortium of researchers led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington analysed 28 cancer groups in 188 countries. They found that breast cancer cases have been doubled in past two decades.

In 2013, there were 14.9 million new cases and 8.2 million deaths worldwide. Among men, prostate cancer caused 1.4 million new cases and 293,000 deaths. For women, breast cancer caused 1.8 million new cases and 464,000 deaths.

“The good news is that it is highly preventable,” Dr. Dandona said. Similarly, mortality from breast cancer, which is responsible for most deaths of women from cancer both in India and globally, can be reduced through early screening, he said. Secondary breast cancer kills 1,000 women each and every month in the UK alone and yet we still don’t know enough about how and why breast cancer spreads to stop it, he added.

The study, “The Global Burden of Cancer 2013,” was published in the journal JAMA Oncology on Thursday.

By Lizitha