Breast cancer cases on the rise in Japan

The number of women diagnosed with breast cancer per year in the seven major markets is forecast to increase by 13% over the next decade, finds independent healthcare analyst, Datamonitor.* However, in Japan, breast cancer incidence rates will rise by approximately 24% to 2019 to reach 56,400 cases, compared to 45,600 cases in 2010.

Globally, more than 1 million new cases of breast cancer, the most common cancer among women, are diagnosed each year. Whilst survival rates are favorable, Datamonitor predicts that breast cancer incidence in the seven major markets will reach 549,600 cases by 2019.

Sabada Dube, Senior Epidemiologist at Datamonitor, comments: “When compared to Japan, the US is the only major market where breast cancer incidence is predicted to remain constant by 2019. This is largely due to the effects of the introduction of widespread mammographic screening earlier than in other markets”.

“The 2010 breast cancer screening guidelines issued by the US Preventative Task Force recommend breast cancer screening for women aged 50 years and above. Such a change in policy is likely to result in declines in future incidence rates.”

In comparison, incidence rates in the UK are expected to increase by 20% over the same period. In Spain, where the highest increases are expected, incidence rates are predicted to increase by 25%.

Sabada concludes: “The major risk factors for breast cancer are environmental, hormone-related, and dietary factors. Differences between countries can largely be accounted for by the prevalence of these risk factors. For example, the trends forecast in Japan are likely a result of the Japanese continuing to adopt a more ‘westernized’ lifestyle.”

Seven major markets: the US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK