Objectives: We considered trends in breast cancer mortality for 12 American and 8 Australasian countries during 1970-2014, and predicted rates for 2020.
Materials and methods: We obtained official death certification data for breast cancer and population figures from the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization and United Nations databases. We derived age-standardized rates (world standard population), and predictions for 2020 using joinpoint regression.
Results: Breast cancer mortality trends were favourable in North America and Oceania, and a further 10% reduction in their overall rates is predicted for 2020, to reach values of 11-12/100,000 women, i.e. about 50% lower than their top rates in the later 1980's. Hong Kong, Japan and Korea did not show appreciable trends, but their rates remained below 10/100,000. Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Brazil also had stable rates, below or around 10/100,000. Breast cancer mortality was higher in Argentina, Cuba and Venezuela, and only Argentina showed some favourable trends over recent years, and predictions to 2020 around 16/100,000. Trends and predictions were less favourable in Israel, New Zealand, and the Philippines than in most other countries with predicted rates in 2020 between 13 and 16/100,000.
Conclusion: In several high-income countries, the fall in breast cancer mortality, due to improved treatment and diagnosis, has been the major success in the management of any common cancer over the last three decades. There are, however, persistent disparities in the global decline in breast cancer, which call for urgent management improvements in several areas of the world, particularly in middle-income countries.
Keywords: Breast; Cancer; Mortality; Projections; Trends; World.
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