The Top 5 Countries with the Highest Incidence of Breast Cancer

  Country Breast Cancer Rate
(per 100,000)
1 Belgium 109.2
2 Denmark 101.1
3 France 99.7
4 The Netherlands 98.5
5 Israel 96.8
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 Special Report
  1. Breast cancer is by far the most frequent cancer among women with an estimated 1.38 million new cancer cases diagnosed in 2008 (23% of all cancers), and ranks second overall (10.9% of all cancers).
  2. Breast cancer is now the most common cancer both in developed and developing regions with around 690 000 new cases estimated in each region (population ratio 1:4). (a.)
  3. The range of mortality rates for breast cancer is much less (approximately 6-19 per 100,000) because of the more favourable survival of breast cancer in (high-incidence) developed regions. As a result, breast cancer ranks as the fifth cause of death from cancer overall (458 000 deaths), but it is still the most frequent cause of cancer death in women in both developing (269 000 deaths, 12.7% of total) and developed regions, where the estimated 189 000 deaths is almost equal to the estimated number of deaths from lung cancer (188 000 deaths). (a.)
  4. Breast cancer incidence rates vary from 19.3 per 100,000 women in Eastern Africa to 89.7 per 100,000 women in Western Europe, and are high (greater than 80 per 100,000) in developed regions of the world (except Japan) and low (less than 40 per 100,000) in most of the developing regions. (a.)
  5. The five-year survival rate from breast cancer among women age 15 and older is 89% in the United States, 82% in Switzerland, and 80% in Spain. Breast cancer survival rates in developing countries are generally lower than in Europe and North America, with rates as low as 38.8% in Algeria, 36.6% in Brazil, and 12% in Gambia. The stage at diagnosis is the most important prognostic variable. For instance, the overall five-year relative survival among US women diagnosed with breast cancer at early stage is 98%, compared to 84% and 23% when the disease is spread to regional lymph nodes or distant organs, respectively. In the United States the National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 2.5 million women with a history of breast cancer were alive in January 2006. Most of these individuals were cancer-free, while others still had evidence of cancer and may have been undergoing treatment. (b.).
Top 5 facts sources:
  1. GLOBOCAN 2008. (2012). Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 10 [Internet]./li>
  2. American Cancer Society. (2008). Global Cancer Facts & Figures, 2nd Edition.
Tags: Top 5 Highest, Cancer statistics, France

Sources:  GLOBOCAN 2008, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 10 [Internet].

List Notes: Data is female breast cancer incidence rate (age-standardized) per 100,000 population for the year 2008 or latest available data. An age-standardized rate is the rate that a population would have if it had a standard age structure. Standardization is necessary when comparing several populations that differ with respect to age because age has a powerful influence on the risk of cancer. (list last updated by top 5 of Anything: May 25th, 2012).
Countries with the Highest Incidence of Breast Cancer

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