Video: Dr Eileen Morgan on breast cancer burden, risk factors, and inequality

In a new video to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr Eileen Morgan, a postdoctoral scientist in the Cancer Surveillance Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), presents an overview of the current global burden of breast cancer and some risk factors to avoid.

Although breast cancer incidence rates are higher in high-income countries, mortality rates are higher in low- and middle-income countries. Unfortunately, this situation is projected to get worse. Between 2020 and 2040, both incidence rates and mortality rates are projected to increase much more in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. To counter these increases, action to reduce exposure to risk factors is critical.

In 2020, an estimated 2.26 million new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed worldwide, representing one quarter of all cancers diagnosed in women, and about 685 000 women died of breast cancer.

Watch the video