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Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partner institutions, reveal the scale of disparities in global breast cancer survival with the launch of the first-ever WHO Global Breast Cancer Survival Estimates, published in Nature Medicine. These estimates, a landmark for the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI), were published today alongside the WHO Global Status Report on Cancer 2026. The Global Status Report was developed jointly by IARC and WHO and provides comprehensive analysis of progress across key areas such as political commitment, cancer prevention, and investment in treatment.
The research team estimated population-based age-standardized 5-year net survival for women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017–2021 in all 194 WHO Member States. They found that survival rates varied from an average of 39.1% for countries in the WHO African Region to an average of 88.5% for countries in the WHO Region of the Americas. These new figures provide a global benchmark for monitoring breast cancer outcomes.
The breast cancer survival estimates provide the first comprehensive baseline country-comparable estimates to support WHO Member States in strengthening breast cancer control and monitoring progress towards achieving the GBCI 60–60–80 targets by 2040. The 60–60–80 targets are to diagnose at least 60% of invasive breast cancers at stage I or II; complete diagnostic evaluation, imaging, tissue sampling, and pathology within 60 days; and ensure that at least 80% of patients undergo multimodality treatment without abandonment.
Girardi F, Nyangasi M, Callendar C, Ng M, Narita S, Toronde J, et al.
Global breast cancer survival estimates in 2017–2021 to advance the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative
Nat Med. Published online 8 July 2026;
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04531-2
