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4.1 Summary
The average number of new cases diagnosed each year was 2,965 in women and 20 in men. Breast cancer was the most common cancer in women in Ireland, accounting for 29% of all malignant neoplasms, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (Table 4.1). During 1995-2007, the number of new cases diagnosed in women increased by approximately 3% per annum, 4% in RoI and 1% in NI. From 2002 to 2007, annual increases of 3% in RoI and 4% in NI were observed.
The risk of developing breast cancer up to the age of 74 was 1 in 12 for women and 1 in 1,621 for men and was slightly higher in RoI than in NI. At the end of 2008, 17,167 women and 53 men aged under 65, and 13,987 women and 128 men aged 65 and over, were alive up to 15 years after their cancer diagnosis.
Table 4.1 Summary information for breast cancer in Ireland, 1995-2007
Ireland | RoI | NI | ||||
females | males | females | males | females | males | |
% all new cancer cases | 21% | 0.1% | 21% | 0.1% | 21% | 0.1% |
% all new cancer cases excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 29% | 0.2% | 29% | 0.2% | 28% | 0.2% |
average number of new cases per year 1995-2007 | 2965 | 20 | 1990 | 14 | 975 | 6 |
average number of new cases per year 1995-2001 | 2665 | 19 | 1762 | 12 | 903 | 7 |
average number of new cases per year 2002-2007 | 3315 | 20 | 2257 | 16 | 1058 | 4 |
cumulative risk to age 74 | 8.4% | 0.06% | 8.4% | 0.07% | 8.3% | 0.05% |
15-year prevalence (1994-2008) | 31154 | 181 | 20827 | 123 | 10327 | 58 |
The remainder of this chapter relates only to breast cancer in women.
The proportion of breast cancers which occurred in women aged 60 and over was lower than for most other cancers (Figure 4.1). Almost one quarter of all cases occurred in women aged under 50, and a further quarter in those aged 50–59. Just 12% of cases were diagnosed in those aged over 80 years. This pattern was similar for RoI and NI.
Figure 4.1 Age distribution of female breast cancer cases in Ireland, 1995-2007
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