Age of Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in China: Almost 10 Years Earlier than in the United States and the European Union

Abstract

Background: The study aimed to describe the age distribution of breast cancer diagnosis among Chinese females for comparison with the United States and the European Union, and provide evidence for the screening target population in China. Materials and Methods: Median age was estimated from hospital databases from 7 tertiary hospitals in China. Population-based data in China, United States and European Union was extracted from the National Central Cancer Registry, SEER program and GLOBOCAN 2008, respectively. Age-standardized distribution of breast cancer at diagnosis in the 3 areas was estimated based on the World Standard Population 2000. Results: The median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was around 50 in China, nearly 10 years earlier than United States and European Union. The diagnosis age in China did not vary between subgroups of calendar year, region and pathological characteristics. With adjustment for population structure, median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was 50~54 in China, but 55~59 in United States and European Union. Conclusions: The median diagnosis age of female breast cancer is much earlier in China than in the United States and the European Union pointing to racial differences in genetics and lifestyle. Screening programs should start at an earlier age for Chinese women and age disparities between Chinese and Western women warrant further studies.

Characteristics of breast cancer in Central China, literature review and comparison with USA

“…The age diagnosis of BC in China was 10 years earlier than that in USA, which was similar as that in a larger, national study reported recently [33]. Although in some developed areas of China like Shanghai, the age distribution of BC showed similar patterns of two peak ages because of similar lifestyle and longer life expectancy with Western countries, but the two peak ages (50e55 and 70e74 years) were still earlier than that in USA (60e64 and 80 years) [1e3,33].…”

“…US had already initiated the national screening program for several decades. Unfortunately, although some screening programs for BC have been performed in local developed areas in China, the nationwide screening program has not been conducted [3,33]. Additionally, the lower ER positive rate indicated more patients with aggressive BC, which needs to earlier diagnosis and intensive treatment.…”

“…In addition, racial differences in genetics and lifestyle should also be investigated. For example, some inherent differences in genetics between Chinese and White American BC patients, such as insulin like growth factor-1, BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, were reviewed by recent study [3,33]. And some lifestyles, such as labor intensive working conditions and reproductive factors, may also increased the risk of BC for Chinese women [3,33].…”

Modification effects of genetic polymorphisms in FTO, IL-6, and HSPD1 on the associations of diabetes with breast cancer risk and survival

“…It would be interesting that a similar study could be conducted among Caucasians: A same result would suggest a general phenomenon; a different result may be explained by the interaction between genes and environments [34]. It is also likely that menopausal status may be able to explain the phenomena to some extent, because European incident breast cancer patients are usually older (postmenopausal) than Chinese [35], while the association particularly occurred among postmenopausal women as found in previous studies [36,37] as well as in the present study.…”

A Technique of Endoscopic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy for Breast Cancer

“…1 The age of development and diagnosis of breast cancer is much younger in China than in the United States and the European Union. 2 Mastectomy is associated with psychological trauma for many patients. 3 Surgical therapy for breast cancer has evolved from radical mastectomy to breast-conserving techniques.…”