More and more adolescent and young adult patients (AYA), aged 15-39, were diagnosed with breast cancer from 1990 to 2021.
A study published this year in The Lancet, a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, assessed trends in AYA breast cancer incidence and mortality across 11 countries in Southeast Asia (SEA): Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Findings include rising incidence in all 11 countries from 1990–2021, with the highest in 2021 in Thailand (11.78/100,000), Singapore (8.46), and Malaysia (7.64), and the largest estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) in Thailand (4.06), Vietnam (2.92), and Cambodia (2.63). Mortality varied by country with the highest in 2021 in Myanmar (2.54/100,000), Thailand (2.36), and the Philippines (2.17), and lowest in Singapore (0.86) and Timor-Leste (0.81). Singapore showed declining mortality for the period with EAPC at minus 2 (−2.00). There were also screening gaps for AYA populations persist, especially in low- to middle-income countries.
ICANSERVE Foundation, Inc. founding president Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, a co-author of the study, said findings support their own observations within the foundation of having younger and younger patients join its online community of breast cancer survivors. “It was a trend we could not ignore. At that age, cancer is often far from their minds. And because the risk they face—and the solutions they need—are entirely different from those over 50, reaching them will require creative, disruptive ways of communicating, not just repurposing old messages. At the same time, we must begin serious, systematic study: tracking behaviors, practices, and the breast health status of younger populations.”
The study called “Trends in female breast cancer among adolescent and young adults in Southeast Asia” was co-authored by Jenny Chen, Frances Dominique V. Ho, Erin Jay G. Feliciano, James Fan Wu, Magsanoc-Alikpala, and radiation oncologist Edward Christopher Dee of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Going forward, the authors recommended the strengthening of cancer registries in SEA to enable robust surveillance; tailored, age-specific breast cancer awareness and screening programs for AYA women; policies to address rising incidence and ensure equitable access to diagnostics and treatment; and for regional and national planning to proactively respond to these shifting cancer burdens.
Access the published study here.
ICANSERVE, in cooperation with WOO, created this video intended for young women navigating the often complicated relationship they have with their breasts as they grow up and grow old.