The American Cancer Society (ACS) has released its report Breast Cancer Statistics, 2024, which shows that “breast cancer mortality rates overall have dropped by 44% since 1989, averting approximately 517,900 breast cancer deaths.”
Notably, 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.”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among U.S. women after skin cancer. It is also the leading cause of cancer death in Hispanic women. In 2024, “an estimated 310,720 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women, and approximately 42,250 women are expected to die from the disease. While rare, this year, 2,790 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 530 men will die from the disease.”
Other key findings from the report include that “AIAN women have 10% lower breast cancer incidence than White women, but 6% higher mortality, and only 51% of AIAN women 40 years or older had a mammogram in the past two years compared to 68% of White women.” Additionally, “Black women continue to have a 38% higher breast cancer mortality rate than White women, despite a 5% lower incidence. Black women also have lower survival than White women for every breast cancer subtype and stage of diagnosis except localized disease, with which they are 10% less likely to be diagnosed (58% versus 68%).” The ACS launched the VOICES of Black Women study in May 2024, which will enroll over 100,000 Black women in the U.S. “who have not been diagnosed with cancer to better understand cancer risk and outcomes.”
