U.S. Cancer Statistics Breast Cancer Stat Bite

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In the United States in 2019—

• 264,121 new breast cancers were reported in females.
• 42,280 females died from breast cancer.

Females had much higher rates of getting breast cancer than dying from breast cancer.

Stage Distribution

From 2015 to 2019, about 2 in 3 breast cancer cases were diagnosed at a localized stage, meaning the cancer had not spread outside the breast. About 1 in 4 breast cancers were found at a regional stage (the cancer had spread to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, or organs), and 6% were found at a distant stage (the cancer had spread to distant parts of the body).

5-Year Relative Survival

90% of female breast cancer patients who were diagnosed from 2012 to 2018 had not died from their cancer 5 years later.

Survival is higher when breast cancer is found before it has spread to other parts of the body. Mammograms are the best way to find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat and before it is big enough to feel or cause symptoms.

Data Sources

Data are from U.S. Cancer Statistics, the official federal cancer statistics.

U.S. Cancer Statistics incidence data are from population-based registries that participate in CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, or both programs and met high-quality data criteria for the 2021 data submission, covering 99% of the U.S. population.

U.S. Cancer Statistics death data are from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System and cover 100% of the U.S. population.

U.S. Cancer Statistics survival and prevalence data are from 42 NPCR registries that met high-quality data criteria for the 2021 data submission and linked to the National Death Index, conducted active patient follow-up, or performed both of these activities. The resulting data cover 88% of the U.S. population. Five-year relative survival estimates are based on cases diagnosed from 2012 to 2018. Five-year limited-duration prevalence estimates are based on cases diagnosed from 2014 to 2018.