Breast cancer in Australia

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting Australian women.

Australia has one of the best breast cancer survival rates in the world. The incidence rate of women and men being diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia is increasing; however the mortality rate from breast cancer is decreasing.

In 2023, it is predicted that 20,458 women and 217 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer. This means that approximately 20,675 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year - on average, 57 people every day.

A snapshot of breast cancer in Australia in 2023:

• The risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer over a lifetime is 1 in 7 for women and 1 in 542 for men.
• It is estimated that breast cancer will account for approximately 28 per cent of all new cancers in Australian women.
• The chance of surviving at least five years (five year relative survival) has increased from 78 per cent in 1990-1994 to 92 per cent in 2014-2019.
• It is estimated that at the end of 2017, there were 242,083 women who were alive and had been diagnosed with breast cancer between 1982 and 2017.
• Approximately 80 per cent of new cases of breast cancer are in women aged 50 or above.
• It is estimated that 3255 women and 36 men will die from breast cancer.

For more information download BCNA’s current breast cancer statistics in Australia.

The graph below shows the projected incidence of breast cancer by age for Australian women in 2023.

Reference

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2023. Cancer data in Australia. Cat. no. CAN 122. Canberra: AIHW. Accessed: September 2023.