Changes in breast cancer incidence and mortality in middle-aged and elderly women in 28 countries with Caucasian majority populations.
BACKGROUND
Mammography screening and menopause hormone therapy is essentially offered to women 50-69 years old.


METHODS
In 28 European ancestry countries, we quantified changes in breast cancer incidence and mortality using a joinpoint regression analysis from 1960 until last year of available data.


RESULTS
Since 1960, increases in incidence often in the order of 2%-3% per year occurred in all countries, mainly in women 50-69 years old whose incidence in eight countries surpassed the incidence in women 70 years old and more. In 10 countries, a decrease in incidence in women >or=70 years was noticeable in the last years of observation, but the magnitude of this decrease was far from matching the magnitude of the increases observed in the 50-69 age-group. In the beginning of years 2000s, a persistent decrease in mortality of approximately 2% per year was observed in women 50-69 years old in most countries and parallel declines in mortality were observed in women 70 years or more.


CONCLUSIONS
In years 2000s, in a number of countries, the incidence of breast cancer has become greater in middle-aged women than in older women. If trends remain unchanged, the same phenomenon is likely to happen in other countries.
Héry
C
C
Data Analysis and Interpretation Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
Ferlay
J
J
Boniol
M
M
Autier
P
P
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D009656:North America / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People