Breast cancer

Introduction

In 2020, breast cancer became the most commonly diagnosed cancer type in the world; there were more than 2.26 million new cases of breast cancer and almost 685 000 deaths from breast cancer worldwide. Breast cancer was the most common cause of cancer death in women and the fifth most common cause of cancer death overall.

News & Events

News

Metabolically defined body size and body shape phenotypes and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

More 08.05.2023

27.04.2023 CanScreen5: a global data repository for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening programmes

06.04.2023 IARC marks World Health Day 2023 by celebrating the 75th anniversary of WHO

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Press Releases

Press Release

CanScreen5: a global data repository for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening programmes

PDF 27.04.2023

07.03.2023 Food processing and cancer risk in Europe: results from the prospective EPIC cohort study

21.11.2022 Global and regional estimates of maternal orphans attributed to cancer mortality in 2020: 1 million new maternal orphans due to cancer in 2020

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Highlights

World Cancer Day 2023

More 03.02.2023

13.10.2022 IARC scientists will play central roles at the World Cancer Congress 2022

01.10.2021 Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2021

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Videos

Recording

Dr Valerie McCormack on the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative and maternal orphans

WATCH VIDEO 03.02.2023

23.01.2023 Dr Susan Cherian on the Atlas of Breast Cancer Early Detection

23.01.2023 Dr Partha Basu on the Atlas of Breast Cancer Early Detection

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Infographics

Infographic

Lifestyle correlates of eight breast cancer-related metabolites: a cross-sectional study within the EPIC cohort

More 17.12.2021

01.10.2021 IARC marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2021

04.02.2021 World Cancer Day 2021: Breast cancer overtakes lung cancer in terms of number of new cancer cases worldwide

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Q&As

Latest global cancer data: Cancer burden rises to 19.3 million new cases and 10.0 million cancer deaths in 2020
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (Q&A)

What has changed since IARC released the previous global cancer data in 2018?

What factors explain the observation that female breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide?

Does this mean that breast cancer is not being efficiently tackled?

19.10.2020 Genetic risk factors for breast cancer and ovarian cancer in Latin America: Q&A with Dr Sandra Perdomo

12.10.2020 Genetic markers and breast cancer: Questions and Answers with Dr Zdenko Herceg

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Research Project Websites

Maternal Orphans due to Cancer Deaths: Global Estimates Global Cancer Observatory EpiMARKS+: Identifying epigenetic biomarkers of breast cancer risk and their environmental/lifestyle determinants