Primary Research Source for Annual Breast Cancer Incidence
The GLOBOCAN database, maintained by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), is the primary and most authoritative source for global breast cancer incidence and mortality statistics. 1
Why GLOBOCAN is the Gold Standard
GLOBOCAN provides comprehensive, standardized cancer statistics across 185 countries and is updated biennially. The most recent data from GLOBOCAN 2022 reports:
- 2.3 million new female breast cancer cases globally in 2022 2
- Approximately 2.1 million cases were diagnosed in 2018 1
- 670,000 deaths from breast cancer in 2022 2
This database is specifically cited in multiple high-quality clinical practice guidelines from ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology) and represents the international consensus source for epidemiological data 1, 3.
Regional-Specific Sources
For more granular regional data, supplementary authoritative sources include:
United States
- American Cancer Society Cancer Statistics - publishes biennial updates with detailed U.S. data 4
- SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) Program - National Cancer Institute database providing U.S.-specific incidence and survival data 5
- In 2008, an estimated 182,460 cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. 5
Europe
- European Cancer Information System - provides EU-specific data
- In 2018, 404,920 new breast cancer cases were predicted across 28 EU countries with an age-adjusted incidence of 144.9/100,000 1
Temporal Trends
For analyzing incidence trends over time, the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (CI5) Plus database is the primary source, maintained by IARC and providing longitudinal data from cancer registries worldwide 6, 7.
Key Epidemiological Context
The lifetime risk for developing breast cancer is approximately 1 in 18 women globally (5.51%) 8, with significant variation by:
- Human Development Index (HDI): Very high HDI regions show 10.37% lifetime risk versus 2.91% in low HDI regions 8
- Age: Incidence increases steeply with age, with about 25% of cases occurring before age 50 and less than 5% before age 35 1, 3
When citing breast cancer statistics in clinical or research contexts, GLOBOCAN should be your primary reference, supplemented by national cancer registries for country-specific data.