Epidemiological Characteristics of Breast Cancer in the Voronezh Region in 2015–2019

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women worldwide. Incidence rates are continuously growing globally. In the Russian Federation, women with breast cancer make up the largest proportion of all cancer cases. Objective: To analyze breast cancer statistics in the Voronezh Region for 2015–2019. Materials and methods: We used data of the Statistical Reporting Form No. 7, Information about Malignant Neoplasms, for 2015–2019 and the statistical bulletin on Age and Sex Distribution of the Population of the Voronezh Region. Women living in the Voronezh Region and first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015–2019 were included in the analysis. Statistical parameters were calculated using the Microsoft Office Excel 2016 software; the p-value of 0.05 or lower was considered statistically significant. Results: Breast cancer rates in the Voronezh Region in 2015–2019 had a moderate upward trend: incidence rates rose from 85.91 in 2015 to 93.89 in 2019 while prevalence rates grew from 904.5 to 1,001.1 per 100,000 female population. The mortality from breast cancer, however, demonstrated a pronounced downward trend dropping from 37.69 to 24.23 per 100,000 female population over the same period. The risk of breast cancer in women rose significantly with age (r = 0.65, p < 0.001) and the highest incidence rates were registered in the age group of 60 to 74 years. Most incident cases were diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. Yet, the proportion of new cases with stage I breast cancer grew statistically from 21.9 to 30.2 % (p < 0.0001) in 2015–2019. The accounting information reliability index for the malignancy decreased from 0.4 to 0.2. Conclusions: Breast cancer incidence and prevalence rates among the female population of the Voronezh Region showed a moderate upward trend in 2015–2019. A pronounced trend towards a decrease in mortality rates, a significant increase in the number of incident cases diagnosed with stage I of the neoplasm, and a decrease in the accounting reliability index reflect qualitative changes in the system of cancer care and improvements in cancer registration in the region.