Disparities in Breast Cancer Deaths

Background

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among American women. A study found that breast cancer deaths among women in the United States dropped 1% per year from 2014 to 2018. Another study found that non-Hispanic Black women had a 41% higher death rate from breast cancer than non-Hispanic White women from 2011 to 2015. CDC scientists wanted to know if these trends had changed.

Scientists looked at deaths among women between 1999 and 2020 by race and ethnicity, age, and US Census region. They found that non-Hispanic Black women had the highest breast cancer death rates compared to women in other racial and ethnic groups. The breast cancer death rate decreased for all women combined, but decreases were lowest among women who were 65 or older and among women who lived in the South when they died.

Key findings

All women combined

Although the breast cancer death rate decreased overall from 1999 to 2020, the decrease seen in recent years (2008 to 2020) is smaller than in earlier years (2002 to 2008).

• 909,488 women in the United States died from breast cancer from 1999 to 2020.
• Overall breast cancer death rates decreased 1.6% per year on average, from 26.6 per 100,000 women in 1999 to 19.1 per 100,000 in 2020.
• From 1999 to 2002, the breast cancer death rate dropped 1.3% per year on average. From 2002 to 2008, the death rate decreased by 2.2% per year on average, and from 2008 to 2020, the death rate decreased by 1.4% per year on average.

Racial and ethnic groups

Compared to women in other racial and ethnic groups, non-Hispanic Black women had the highest breast cancer death rates, and non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander women had the lowest.

• Among non-Hispanic White women, breast cancer death rates decreased 1.6% per year on average, from 26.6 per 100,000 in 1999 to 19.4 in 2020.
• Among non-Hispanic Black women, breast cancer death rates decreased 1.4% per year on average, from 35.7 in 1999 to 26.4 in 2020.
• Among Hispanic women, breast cancer death rates decreased 1.1% per year on average, from 16.4 in 1999 to 13.1 in 2020.
• Among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native women, breast cancer death rates decreased 0.8% per year on average, from 17.0 in 1999 to 13.7 in 2020.
• Among non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander women, breast cancer death rates decreased 0.4% per year on average, from 12.7 in 1999 to 11.4 in 2020.

Age groups

The largest decrease in breast cancer death rates was found among women who were 45 to 64 years old.

• Among women who were 25 to 44, breast cancer death rates decreased 1.5% per year on average, from 7.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to 5.4 in 2020.
• Among women who were 45 to 64, breast cancer death rates decreased 2.0% per year on average, from 43.2 in 1999 to 28.8 in 2020.
• Among women who were 65 or older, breast cancer death rates decreased 1.4% per year on average, from 116.8 in 1999 to 88.1 in 2020.

US Census regions

Women who lived in the Northeast when they died had the largest decrease in breast cancer death rates, and women who lived in the South when they died had the smallest decrease.

• Among women who lived in the Northeast when they died, breast cancer death rates decreased 2.1% per year on average, from 28.3 per 100,000 in 1999 to 20.8 in 2020.
• Among women who lived in the Midwest when they died, breast cancer death rates decreased 1.7% per year on average, from 26.1 in 1999 to 19.8 in 2020.
• Among women who lived in the West when they died, breast cancer death rates decreased 1.5% per year on average, from 24.9 in 1999 to 18.4 in 2020.
• Among women who lived in the South when they died, breast cancer death rates decreased 1.4% per year on average, from 26.1 in 1999 to 19.8 in 2020.

How to lower your risk of dying from breast cancer

Many factors can influence your risk of getting breast cancer. You can’t change some risk factors, such as getting older or your family history. But you can help lower your breast cancer risk by taking care of your health in certain ways.

Breast cancer screening can help find breast cancer early, when it’s easier to treat. Talk to your doctor about which breast cancer screening tests are right for you, and when you should have them.

Data citation

Ellington TD, Henley SJ, Wilson RJ, Miller JW, Wu M, Richardson LC. Trends in breast cancer mortality by race/ethnicity, age, and U.S. Census region, United States—1999–2020. Cancer. 2023;129(1):32–38.