New study reveals significant increase in breast cancer rates among Asian Americans

A study shows that breast cancer rates are rising dramatically among Asian Americans. Researchers are not sure why, but this group is catching up with rates among white women.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The number of women dying of breast cancer has fallen dramatically over the past three decades, and that is the good news. Better detection, earlier detection and improved treatments are increasing survival. However, a new report from the American Cancer Society today also finds younger women and, in particular, Asian American women are getting breast cancer at higher rates. NPR’s Yuki Noguchi reports.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: In 1989, breast cancer was a much scarier disease. Today, 35 years later, women with the disease are 44% less likely to die of it, according to a biennial report from the American Cancer Society. Screening, better diagnostics, and more targeted treatments have helped. But overall, cancer is also becoming more common, and it’s affecting people at younger ages. For example, that same study found incidents of breast cancer increasing at 1.4% a year among women under age 50. Dr. William Dahut is the group’s chief scientific officer.

WILLIAM DAHUT: Incidence is rising about 1% a year, which, of course, may not sound like much, but when you have over 300,000 cases diagnosed per year, you know, rapidly, that becomes, you know, thousands more people that’ll be diagnosed if you sort of extrapolate it over a decade or so.

NOGUCHI: Dahut says nowhere is that trend more alarming than among Asian Americans, where the incidence is increasing at nearly double that general rate, a trend seen among women both above and under age 50.

DAHUT: Over 50, you’re seeing the greatest really increase in that population, about 2.5- to 2.7% per year. Under 50 is striking because that’s such a greater relative increase than any other group.

NOGUCHI: Historically, Asian Americans as a group had lower cancer incidence and mortality rates than their white counterparts. Dahut says they’re catching up alarmingly quickly. It isn’t clear what’s driving these increases. Dahut says higher rates of obesity or changes in fertility rates may be contributing. Plus, he says, more research is needed to look at certain subgroups of Asian Americans to see whether there are genetic, cultural, regional, or socioeconomic factors that might be at play.

Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

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