Breast cancer cases to surge: WHO warns

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A new analysis by the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that one in 20 women worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. If current rates of diagnosis continue, by 2050 there will be 3.2 million new breast cancer cases and 1.1 breast cancer-related deaths per year.

This growth will immensely affect countries with a low Human Development Index (HDI). The new estimates are based on the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Global Cancer Observatory, including data from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents and the WHO Mortality Database.

"Every minute, four women are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide and one woman dies from the disease, and these statistics are worsening," said IARC scientist Dr Joanne Kim, one of the authors of the report.