Expanding Awareness About Breast Cancer Screenings, Treatments, and Preventative Measures

October is commonly known as Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is an annual campaign to increase awareness about the impact of breast cancer. This will be a weekly series during the month of October exploring the incidence of breast cancer, risk factors, types of breast cancer, advancements in treatments—including safety and efficacy data for approved therapies and agents currently under investigation–preventative measures such as the value of self-examination and mammograms, and the importance of early detection.

In many ways, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has overshadowed the diagnosis, routine monitoring and treatment of other medical conditions as well as cancer. In addition to COVID-19 infections, health experts are also seeing the exacerbation of other medical conditions and are now dealing with the effects of delays in diagnosis, routine monitoring, and treatment of other conditions.

When the pandemic first started, many of these delays were due to lockdowns and due to patient fears and anxieties about contracting the virus. In a recent publication in JAMA Network Open, authors indicated that national estimates project that COVID-19 negatively influenced screenings for breast cancer , leading to an estimated shortfall of 3.9 million breast cancer screenings among patients.^1-3  Moreover, according to data released on June 30, 2021, the CDC revealed the total number of cancer screenings received by women through the CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Detection Program declined by 87% during April 2020 as compared to previous 5 year averages for that month.⁴ They also noted that prolonged delays in breast cancer screenings related to the COVID-19 pandemic could result in delayed diagnosis, poor prognosis, screening site closures, and temporary suspension of screenings during the pandemic.⁴

The National Breast Cancer Foundation indicates that in 2021 alone, an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the US as well as 49,290 new cases for non-invasive breast cancer.⁵

Due to these alarming statistics, it is imperative that health care professionals seize every opportunity to expand initiatives to increase awareness among their patients about the treatments for breast cancer and the value of preventative measures to help diminish the incidence and rates of mortality associated with breast cancer.

Below are some other statistics regarding breast cancer.^5-7

• Statistics report that 1 in 8 US women (about 13%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.^5-7
• Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2021, it's estimated that about 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers.^5-7
• Breast cancer became the most common cancer globally as of 2021, accounting for 12% of all new annual cancer cases worldwide.^5-7
• In 2021, an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 49,290 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.^5-7
• Around 2,650 new cases of invasive breast cancer are projected to be diagnosed in men in 2021. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is just about 1 in 833.^5-7
• Statistics show that in 2021 an estimated 43,600 women in the US are expected to die from breast cancer. The overall death rate from breast cancer diminished by 1% per year from 2013 to 2018. These reductions are thought to be the result of treatment advances and earlier detection through screening.^5-7
• 63% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a localized stage for which the 5-year survival rate is 99%.⁵
• For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are greater than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.^5-7
• There are over 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.^5-7
• In women under 45 years of age, breast cancer is more common in African American women than Caucasian women. For Asian, Hispanic, and Native-American women, the risk of developing and dying from breast cancer is lower. Ashkenazi Jewish women have a greater risk of breast cancer because of a higher rate of BRCA mutations.^5-7
• About 5-10% of breast cancers can be linked to known gene mutations. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are the most common. Less than 15% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer.^5-7
• Five-year survival rates in breast cancer improved from 76% in Caucasian women in 1975-1977 to 92% in 2009-2015. Among African American women, the five-year survival improved from 62% in 1975-1977 to 83% in 2009-2015.⁷

The good news is that the rate of survival among breast cancer patients has augmented considerably in recent decades. Data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER) shows that today, the 5-year survival rate for breast cancers across all stages is 90%. ⁸ Most recent statistics indicated that between 1989 and 2017, the overall death rate from breast cancer diminished by 40%.⁹ DeSantis et al indicated that due to the decline in mortality rates, an estimated 375,900 deaths were avoided in the United States between 1989 and 2017.⁹ 

Health experts believe this decline is likely due to an improvement in screening and early detection, expanded awareness of symptoms and improvement in the treatment landscape.  

Through expanding patient education initiatives and increasing patient access to screenings and therapies, patients can make informed decisions about their health and hopefully, the number of early detections and breast cancer survivors will increase.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Population Health Learning Network or HMP Global, their employees, and affiliates. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, association, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

References

1. Mast C, Munoz del Rio  A. Delayed cancer screenings—a second look. Epic Health Research Network. Accessed September 27,2021.https://ehrn.org/articles/delayed-cancer-screenings-a-second-look/
2. Chen RC, Haynes  K, Du  S, Barron  J, Katz  AJ.  Association of cancer screening deficit in the United States with the COVID-19 pandemic.  JAMA Oncol. 2021;7(6):878-884. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.0884.  http://jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.0884  
3. Velazquez AI, Hayward JH, Gregory B, Dixit N. Trends in Breast Cancer Screening in a Safety-Net Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(8):e2119929. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.19929.
4. Sharp Decline in Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Accessed September 27, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0630-cancer-screenings.html
5. Breast Cancer Facts. National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc website. https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-facts
6. US Breast Cancer Statistics. Breast Cancer.org. Updated February 4, 2021. https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics
7. American Cancer Society. Breast cancer facts and figures 2019-2020.
8. DeSantis, C.E., Ma, J., Gaudet, M.M., Newman, L.A., Miller, K.D., Goding Sauer, A., Jemal, A. and Siegel, R.L. (2019), Breast cancer statistics, 2019. CA A Cancer J Clin, 69: 438-451. doi:10.3322/caac.21583.
9. National Cancer Institute. Cancer stat facts: Female breast cancer. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html