The number of breast cancer cases may increase by 50 percent in the United States by 2030 compared to the disease rate in 2011, according to the latest study.
The research from National Cancer Institute was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research on Monday.
The number of diagnosed breast cancer cases could raise to 441,000 in 2030 from 283,000 in 2011. According to Philip Rosenberg, a senior investigator in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute, reports Washington Post. Rosenberg also noted that there would be a decline in the number of ER- negative breast cancers from 17 percent to nine percent of all tumors for reasons that could not be understood clearly.
About 40 million women in the country born between 1946 and 1964 could be at a risk of postmenopausal breast cancer and nearly 56 million women aged between 20 and 30 years could be at a risk of premenopausal cancer through the decade, according to Yahoo Health.
Rosenberg reasoned that the increase in the number of cases might be due to the three trends; aging of the Baby Boom Generation, that is increase in the population of aged people that are generally prone to disease, increase in the life expectancy of women that allows them to develop breast cancer at some point of time in their life span and clear predicted increased risk of ER positive breast cancers, according Washington Post.
Rosenberg said that, "In sum, our results suggest that although breast cancer overall is going to increase, different subtypes of breast cancer are moving in different directions and on different trajectories," according to Time.
He also added that "These distinct patterns within the overall breast cancer picture highlight key research opportunities that could inform smarter screening and kinder, gentler, and more effective treatment."