Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2022

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month by focusing on the need for breast cancer screening worldwide and the intergenerational effects of breast cancer deaths. In 2020, female breast cancer became the most commonly diagnosed cancer type globally: about 2.26 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and about 685 000 women died from the disease.

With timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment, breast cancer generally has a very good prognosis. However, breast cancer survival is not uniformly high around the world. There are substantial disparities in survival between more-developed and less-developed countries, as well as between different social groups within countries. These disparities are due in part to reduced access to early diagnosis and timely completion of treatment. IARC studies the barriers to accessing diagnosis and treatment and works with stakeholders to mitigate or eliminate these issues.

IARC researchers also study the intergenerational effects of breast cancer deaths – the knock-on effects that the death of a parent or caregiver has on the bereaved family. Recent results show that the number of maternal orphans (children aged < 18 years at maternal death) due to breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa exceeds the number of deaths from breast cancer among women in the region. These findings underline the urgent need for continued action to improve breast cancer survival in this region.

View the IARC webpage on breast cancer 

Read the article about maternal orphans and intergenerational effects