Breast Cancer Increasing Among Younger Women, Latest Data Show

Harvard Medical School physician-scientist shares insights

Microscopic image of breast cancer cells with purple, pink, and red shapes.
Breast cancer cells. Image: Cecil Fox/National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health

Breast cancer rates rose by 1 percent per year from 2012-2021 for all U.S. women combined, with steeper increases for women under 50 and Asian American and Pacific Islander women, according to the American Cancer Society, which released its biennial report on the state of the disease in the nation in October.

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The results are concerning for numerous reasons. Even though mortality rates have fallen by 44 percent since 1989 because of advances in treatment and earlier detection, breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in women, second only to lung cancer.