The American Cancer Society (ACS) has released Breast Cancer Statistics, 2024, the organization's biennial update on breast cancer occurrence and trends in the United States. The new report finds breast cancer mortality rates overall have dropped by 44% since 1989, averting approximately 517,900 breast cancer deaths. However, not all women have benefited from this progress, notably American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) women, whose rates have remained unchanged over the past three decades.
Also concerning is the continued upward trend in breast cancer incidence, rising by 1% annually during 2012–2021, with the steepest increase in women younger than 50 years (1.4% per year) and Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) women of any age (2.5–2.
7% per year). These findings are published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians , alongside its consumer-friendly companion, Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2024 . "The encouraging news is breast cancer mortality rates continue to decrease thanks to advances in early detection and treatment," said Angela Giaquinto, associate scientist, cancer surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study.
"But future progress may be thwarted by increasing incidence, especially among younger women , and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as delayed diagnosis due to interruptions in screening." Breast cancer is the most common cancer among U.S.
women after skin cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in.