News: Breast cancer mortality dropped 58% since 1975, study says

Breast cancer mortality decreased 58% from 1975 to 2019, the likely result of breast cancer screenings and new treatments, according to an article released in JAMA.

According to the researchers, the mortality rate for women with breast cancer was 48 per 100,000 in 1975; in 2019, however, that rate decreased to 27 per 100,000.

These model-based estimates "highlight the continued need to invest in both early detection and linkage to timely, guideline-concordant treatments for all patients,” said one of the researchers, Ethan Basch, MD, in MedPage Today.

"Models such as those developed by CISNET [Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network] investigators,” he continued, “serve as an essential tool to help clarify and quantify for decision-makers the population health return on decades-long investments in research, clinical care, and public health programming."

Here are some highlights from the study:

• Of the reductions, 47% was likely due to treatments in stage I to III breast cancer
• Of the reductions, 29% was likely due to treatments in metastatic breast cancer
• Of the reductions, 25% was likely due to breast cancer screenings

Editor’s note: To read the MedPage Today article, click here. To read the JAMA article, click here.