Variance in trends seen even among older women (aged 85 years and older versus 65 to 74 years), particularly by race and ethnicity and stage at diagnosis
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 1, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Breast cancer incidence trends differ by age, even among older women, particularly by race and ethnicity and stage at diagnosis, according to a study published online June 24 in JAMA Network Open.
Erica J. Lee Argov, M.P.H., from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study in which they disaggregated U.S. breast cancer incidence trends among older women (aged 65 to 74, 75 to 84, and 85 years and older) according to stage at diagnosis, race and ethnicity, hormone receptor subtype, and geography. The analysis included data from approximately 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer from 2001 through 2019.
The researchers found that age-adjusted breast cancer incidence rates were 530.4, 515.3, and 376.8 per 100,000 persons for ages 65 to 74 years, 75 to 84 years, and 85 years and older, respectively. Incidence rates increased in women aged 65 to 74 years (average annual percent changes [AAPC], 0.4 percent), remained stable in women aged 75 to 84 years, and decreased in women aged 85 years or older (AAPC, −1.1 percent). The AAPC was seven to 11 times higher in Hispanic, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander, and non-Hispanic Black women aged 65 to 74 years versus non-Hispanic White women. Regional-stage diagnoses decreased across all age groups (ages 65 years and older: AAPC, −0.8 percent), while distant-stage diagnoses increased (ages 65 years and older: AAPC, 1.3 percent). There was variance by age for trends for in situ and localized diagnoses. Non-Hispanic Black women had the highest proportion of hormone receptor and ERBB2-negative cancers across all age groups.
“The findings of this study suggest that breast cancer incidence trends among older women should be disaggregated by age groups to account for age-related differences in screening and other risk factors,” the authors write.
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