In 2022, the number of breast cancers in France was 105.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This is the highest incidence rate in the world, according to research by the Circ.
- In 2022, nearly 20 million new cases of cancer and nearly 10 million deaths from cancer were recorded.
- In France, the incidence rate in the territory is 105.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a world record.
- “Age, genetic predispositions, late pregnancy, regular and prolonged consumption of alcohol, tobacco, obesity or even pollution,” according to an oncogeneticist and epidemiologist.
“There will be nearly 20 million new cases of cancer in 2022.” This is what the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) wrote in a large epidemiological study. In detail, the Asian continent is in first position with 9,826,539 people having received, for the first time, a diagnosis of cancer. Then, we find Europe with 4,471,422 new cases. In terms of deaths, 9.7 million deaths from cancer were reported. “Estimates suggest that about one in five men and women will develop cancer during their lifetime, while about one in nine men and one in twelve women will die from it.”
105.4 cases of breast cancer per 100,000 inhabitants in France
According to the results, breast cancer and lung cancer were the most common cancers in both women and men. Specifically, lung cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer in 2022, accounting for nearly 2.5 million new cases, or one in eight cancers worldwide (12.4% of all cancers worldwide). It was followed by female breast cancer (11.6%), colorectal cancer (9.6%), prostate cancer (7.3%), and stomach cancer (4.9%). Lung cancer was also the leading cause of cancer death, accounting for approximately 1.8 million deaths (18.7%), followed by colorectal cancer (9.3%), liver cancer (7.8%), female breast cancer (6.9%), and stomach cancer (6.8%).
Circ data reveal that France is the country with the highest proportion of breast cancer in the world. Indeed, the incidence rate in the territory is 105.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022, compared to 77 in Germany, 81 in Spain, 87 in Italy, 94 in the United Kingdom. The latter is 95.9 in the United States and 33 in China. On the other hand, cancer mortality has been falling for several years in France.
Breast cancer: high incidence rate due to risky behavior
How can this sad record be explained? The incidence rate could be high in the territory due to over-screening, but Public Health France indicates that there is no link. “Despite the number of invitations sent (to participate in the national organized breast cancer screening program), the latest data show a participation rate that remains low (46.5% over the period 2022-2023), and down compared to the previous period (47.7% in 2021-2022).”
In fact, risky behavior is the main cause of the increase in the number of breast cancers. “Age, genetic predispositions (which are fortunately very rare), late pregnancy, regular and prolonged consumption of alcohol, tobacco, obesity or even pollution”, explained, to the ParisianEmmanuelle Fourme, oncogeneticist and epidemiologist at the Curie Institute.
“With demographic projections indicating that the number of new cancer cases will reach 35 million by 2050, investments in prevention, including targeting key cancer risk factors (including smoking, overweight and obesity, and infections), could prevent millions of future cancer diagnoses and save many lives worldwide,” can be read in the conclusions of the work.
