Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered a worrying trend: breast cancer diagnoses are increasing in women under 50, with a notable rise in recent years.
This increase is largely due to a growth in estrogen-receptor positive tumors, which are fueled by estrogen.
The study’s findings, published in JAMA Network Open, highlight a big shift in breast cancer patterns.
The research team, led by senior author Adetunji T. Toriola, MD, Ph.D., analyzed data from over 217,000 U.S. women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2000 and 2019.
In 2000, the incidence was about 64 cases per 100,000 women aged 20 to 49. This number slowly rose by approximately 0.24% per year until 2016.
However, after 2016, the rate sharply increased by 3.76% annually, reaching 74 cases per 100,000 by 2019.
Dr. Toriola emphasizes the urgency of understanding what’s causing this surge, particularly in estrogen-receptor positive tumors.
These tumors grow in response to estrogen and were the main contributors to the rise in breast cancer cases. Interestingly, the incidence of estrogen-receptor negative tumors actually decreased over the two decades.
The study’s findings also highlight racial disparities, with Black women aged 20 to 29 facing a 53% higher risk of breast cancer compared to white women in the same age group.
This disparity underlines the need for targeted research and prevention strategies.
Currently, regular breast cancer screening typically starts at age 40. As a result, younger women diagnosed with breast cancer often have later-stage tumors, making the disease more challenging to treat.
This research could help identify young women at high risk of early-onset breast cancer and pave the way for interventions and clinical trials aimed at reducing this risk.
Understanding the drivers behind the increase in estrogen-receptor positive tumors and the decrease in negative ones could offer vital clues for prevention strategies.
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The research findings can be found in JAMA Network Open.
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