Breast cancer: Scottish data
The discussion below focuses on breast cancer in women. There are over 3,500 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year in women in Scotland, compared with only a handful for men (around 20 or so).
Detailed statistics on breast cancer in Scotland are available as downloadable Excel files via the breast cancer statistics page on the ISD Scotland website. Direct links to some of these Excel files are provided below.
Incidence
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Scotland accounting for over a quarter of all cancers diagnosed. Chart 1 shows that the incidence of breast cancer among women in Scotland is increasing over time. Breast cancer incidence increases with age and it is relatively rare among women aged under 40.
The ISD data file below includes breast cancer registrations data for individual health board areas. For breast cancer registrations data at local authority level see ISD's Scottish Local Authorities Compendium of Health Statistics.
ISD data file: Breast cancer annual incidence 
Mortality
Chart 2 shows that breast cancer mortality in women in Scotland has decreased over the past 10 years or so, despite increasing incidence. However, breast cancer is still the second most common cause of cancer death in women.
ISD data file: Breast cancer annual mortality
Survival
Five year survival for women diagnosed with breast cancer has increased substantially from 61% for those diagnosed between 1977 and 1981 to 80% for those diagnosed between 1997 and 2001. Survival tends to be higher for younger women. The improvement in survival is likely to be due to a combination of factors including earlier diagnosis in women participating in the Scottish Breast Screening Programme, improvements in treatment, and better organisation and delivery of care for patients.
ISD data file: Breast cancer survival
Prevalence
The increase in incidence alongside a decrease in mortality means that the prevalence of breast cancer in women in Scotland is increasing. At the end of 2003, 1.25% of women in Scotland had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the previous 20 years.
ISD data file: Breast cancer prevalence
Lifetime risk
For women living in Scotland, the risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetime is 9.6%. In other words, 1 in 10 women in Scotland will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
ISD data file: Breast cancer lifetime risk
Deprivation
Breast cancer is more common in affluent areas, which is linked to the higher prevalence of key risk factors in women from affluent areas. For women diagnosed with breast cancer, survival is lower in more deprived areas.
ISD data file: Breast cancer deprivation
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