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Epidemiology and Clinical Risk Factors

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Breast Cancer

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Oncology ((CCO))

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Abstract

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women in the United States, and the second leading cause of death due to cancer, with approximately 43,300 deaths expected a year. After decades of increasing incidence rates, data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program indicate a plateau in rates of new cases between 1990 and 1996 and a shift in stage from regional and distant stages to more localized disease (1). Over the same period, breast cancer death rates have declined (on average) by 1.7% a year (2) (Fig. 1). Despite these recent promising trends, breast cancer represents a significant personal and societal burden that affects women in the prime of their lives and accounts for a large portion of the health care budget. A long history of classical epidemiologic studies, now coupled with the new information emerging from the field of molecular genetics, is beginning to elucidate the basic mechanisms of breast carcinogenesis and allow development of novel treatment and prevention strategies.

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Authors
  1. Mary B. Daly MD, PhD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Michael H. Torosian MD

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Daly, M.B. (2002). Epidemiology and Clinical Risk Factors. In: Torosian, M.H. (eds) Breast Cancer. Current Clinical Oncology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-161-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-161-9_1

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

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