Data in this report provide a comprehensive picture of breast cancer in Australia including how breast cancer rates differ by geographical area, socioeconomic Breast cancer in Australia status, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status and country of birth. an overview October 2012 CANCER SERIES Number 71 Breast cancer in Australia An overview Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Canberra Cat. no. CAN 67 The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is a major national agency which provides reliable, regular and relevant information and statistics on Australia’s health and welfare. The Institute’s mission is authoritative information and statistics to promote better health and wellbeing. Cancer Australia is the Australian Government’s national cancer agency. Cancer Australia was established to benefit all Australians who are affected by cancer, their families and carers. Cancer Australia works to reduce the impact of cancer and improve the wellbeing of those diagnosed by ensuring that evidence informs cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and supportive care. © Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2012 This product, excluding the AIHW logo, Commonwealth Coat of Arms and any material owned by a third party or protected by a trademark, has been released under a Creative Commons BY 3.0 (CC-BY 3.0) licence. Excluded material owned by third parties may include, for example, design and layout, images obtained under licence from third parties and signatures. We have made all reasonable efforts to identify and label material owned by third parties. You may distribute, remix and build upon this work. However, you must attribute the AIHW as the copyright holder of the work in compliance with our attribution policy available at <www.aihw.gov.au/copyright/>. The full terms and conditions of this licence are available at <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/>. Enquiries relating to copyright should be addressed to the Head of the Communications, Media and Marketing Unit, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, GPO Box 570, Canberra ACT 2601. This publication is part of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Cancer series. A complete list of the Institute’s publications is available from the Institute’s website <www.aihw.gov.au>. ISSN 1039-3307 ISBN 978-1-74249-355-8 Suggested citation Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Cancer Australia 2012. Breast cancer in Australia: an overview. Cancer series no. 71. Cat. no. CAN 67. Canberra: AIHW. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Cancer Australia Board Chair Advisory Council Chair Dr Andrew Refshauge Dr William Glasson AO Director Chief Executive Officer David Kalisch Professor Helen Zorbas Any enquiries about or comments on this publication should be directed to: Communications, Media and Marketing Unit Australian Institute of Health and Welfare GPO Box 570 Canberra ACT 2601 Tel: (02) 6244 1032 Email: [email protected] Published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Please note that there is the potential for minor revisions of data in this report. Please check the online version at <www.aihw.gov.au> for any amendments. Foreword Breast cancer in Australia: an overview presents the most up-to-date statistical information on breast cancer in Australia. The report documents key breast cancer statistics to provide researchers, health service providers and policy makers with the most relevant data to reduce the impact of breast cancer in Australia. This report represents the significant contributions and the continuing partnership of Cancer Australia, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and the Australasian Association of Cancer Registries. Cancer Australia works to reduce the impact of cancer and improve the wellbeing of those diagnosed by ensuring that evidence informs cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and supportive care. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s work informs and supports the development of policy and programs on Australia’s health and welfare through the provision of relevant, timely and high-quality information. The current report provides a nationwide snapshot of a major condition affecting a substantial number of Australians. It identifies the relationship between breast cancer incidence and mortality and geographical remoteness, socioeconomic status, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, and country of birth. In addition, information on survival, prevalence, hospitalisations, expenditure, and the burden of disease from breast cancer indicates the impact of this disease on our population and health system. Importantly, the report identifies areas of significant change over time and provides projections for the future to assist in planning for services and patient needs. We would like to thank the staff of the various cancer registries and data repositories for their efforts in making these data available. We anticipate that the information contained in Breast cancer in Australia: an overview will be used extensively to further our goal of reducing the mortality from breast cancer and improving the wellbeing of all Australians living with the disease. Mr David Kalisch Professor Helen Zorbas Director CEO Australian Institute of Cancer Australia Health and Welfare Breast cancer in Australia: an overview iii Contents Foreword .............................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................. vii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................... viii Symbols .................................................................................................................................................. x Summary .............................................................................................................................................. xi 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 What is breast cancer? ................................................................................................................... 1 What are the known risk factors for breast cancer? .................................................................. 2 Purpose and structure of this report............................................................................................ 3 Data interpretation ......................................................................................................................... 3 Data sources .................................................................................................................................... 5 2 Incidence of breast cancer ............................................................................................................ 6 About incidence of breast cancer ................................................................................................. 7 Incidence of breast cancer in females .......................................................................................... 7 Incidence of breast cancer in males ........................................................................................... 26 3 Mortality from breast cancer ..................................................................................................... 29 About mortality from breast cancer .......................................................................................... 30 Mortality of females from breast cancer ................................................................................... 30 Mortality of males from breast cancer ....................................................................................... 42 4 Survival after a diagnosis of breast cancer ............................................................................. 45 About survival after a diagnosis of breast cancer .................................................................... 46 Survival of females with breast cancer ...................................................................................... 47 What was the prospect of survival for males with breast cancer? ........................................ 57 5 Prevalence of breast cancer ........................................................................................................ 59 About prevalence of breast cancer ............................................................................................. 60 Prevalence of breast cancer in females ...................................................................................... 60 Prevalence of breast cancer in males ......................................................................................... 63 6 Burden of disease due to breast cancer ................................................................................... 65 About burden of disease due to breast cancer ......................................................................... 66 Burden of disease due to breast cancer in females .................................................................. 67 Burden of disease due to breast cancer in males ..................................................................... 70 7 Mammography............................................................................................................................