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Key Statistics for Breast Cancer
Learn about key statistics for breast cancers in women in the United States, including how common they are, recent trends, and who is most affected.
How common is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the US besides skin cancers. It accounts for about 1 in 3 new cancers in women each year.
The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the US for 2026 are:
- About 321,910 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
- About 60,730 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed.
- About 42,140 women will die from breast cancer.
Who gets breast cancer?
Breast cancer mainly occurs in middle-aged and older women. The median age at the time of breast cancer diagnosis is 63. This means about half of breast cancers are diagnosed at a younger age, and about half are diagnosed at an older age. About 1 in 10 women diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 45.
Lifetime chance of getting breast cancer
Overall, the average risk that a woman in the US will develop breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13%. This means about 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer. But each woman’s risk of breast cancer varies based on her age, race and ethnicity, and other factors.
Trends in breast cancer incidence
In recent years, breast cancer incidence rates have increased by 1% per year. The rise has been a little faster in women younger than 50 (1.4%). This is probably due to younger women being more likely to have certain factors that increase risk, such as having excess body weight, having fewer children, or having a first child after age 30.
Trends in breast cancer deaths
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. The chance that any woman will die from breast cancer is about 1 in 43 (about 2.3%).
Breast cancer death rates have been decreasing steadily since 1989, for an overall decline of 44% through 2023. This is most likely the result of finding breast cancer earlier through screening and increased awareness, as well as better treatments.
Differences by race and ethnicity
Some variations in breast cancer can be seen among racial and ethnic groups. For example:
- White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than Black women, but Black women have the highest death rate from breast cancer.
- At every stage, Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than any other race or ethnic group.
- White, Asian, and Pacific Islander women are more likely to be diagnosed with early-stage (localized) breast cancer than Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native women.
- Asian and Pacific Islander women have the lowest death rate from breast cancer.
Breast cancer survivors
There are more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the US. This includes women still being treated and those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer in the past.
Survival rates are discussed in Survival Rates for Breast Cancer.
Visit the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Statistics Center for more key statistics.
- Written by
- References
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2026. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2026.
American Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2024-2025. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2024.
National Cancer Institute. Cancer Stat Facts: Female Breast Cancer. 2025. Accessed at https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html on March 31, 2026.
Wagle NS, Nogueira L, Devasia TP, et al. Cancer treatment and survivorship statistics, 2025. CA Cancer J Clin. 2025;75(4):308-340.
Last Revised: June 24, 2026
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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