Breast Cancer Updates

Between 2015 and 2019, some 78,824 cancers were diagnosed in Singapore.

- Drooi Wei Seong

Breast cancer, the most common among women worldwide, added up to 11,805 cases, or 29.4% percent. Breast cancer occurs in just one percent of men suffering from cancers.

Breast cancer arises from the ducts and lobules in the breasts where milk is produced. Other cancers such as sarcoma and lymphoma can also affect the breasts but these are not strictly breast cancers and are treated differently.

Risk factors for developing breast cancer include gender, ageing, a history of breast conditions requiring biopsies, family history and prior radiation exposure. Other factors are obesity, early menstruation, late menopause, alcohol consumption and hormone replacement therapy.

Around five to 10 percent of breast cancers arise when the patient has inherited a mutated gene, BRCA1 and BRCA2 being the most common.

Awareness and early diagnosis