Lifestyle behind quarter of healthy years lost to breast cancer – study

Lifestyle factors are linked to more than a quarter of healthy years lost to breast cancer worldwide, according to the largest study of its kind.

The research analysed data from population-based cancer registries across more than 200 countries between 1990 and 2023 to examine how lifestyle affects the global burden of breast cancer.

The study, published in Lancet Oncology, also used the data to forecast trends in breast cancer cases up to 2050.

It found high red meat consumption had the largest impact, linked to nearly 11 per cent of healthy life lost to the disease.

Tobacco use, including secondhand smoke, accounted for 8 per cent, followed by high blood sugar (6 per cent), high body mass index, or BMI, a measure of body fat based on height and weight (4 per cent), high alcohol use and low physical activity (both 2 per cent).

In total, 28 per cent of the global breast cancer burden in 2023, equivalent to 6.8m years of healthy life lost to disability, illness and early death, was linked to six potentially modifiable risk factors.

Kayleigh Bhangdia, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and lead author of the study, said: “Breast cancer continues to take a profound toll on women’s lives and communities.

“While those in high-income countries typically benefit from screening and more timely diagnosis and comprehensive treatment strategies, the mounting burden of breast cancer is shifting to low- and lower middle-income countries where individuals often face later-stage diagnosis, more limited access to quality care and higher death rates that are threatening to eclipse progress in women’s health.”

New breast cancer cases in women are predicted to rise by about a third globally, from 2.3m in 2023 to more than 3.5m in 2050, according to the analysis by the Global Burden of Disease Study Breast Cancer Collaborators.

The findings suggest maintaining healthier lifestyles, including not smoking, doing sufficient physical activity, reducing red meat consumption and maintaining a healthy BMI, could help prevent more than a quarter of healthy years lost to illness and premature death due to breast cancer worldwide.

In the UK, about one in seven women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.

The figures follow earlier research by Cancer Research UK which found that more than four in 10 UK cancer cases could be prevented through lifestyle changes.

The analysis also found that in 2023, three times as many new breast cancer cases were diagnosed in women aged 55 or older compared with women aged 20 to 54, with 161 cases per 100,000 women compared with 50.

However, rates of new cases among women aged 20 to 54 have risen by nearly a third, or 29 per cent, since 1990, while rates among older women have not changed substantially.

Claire Rowney, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said: “This new global study is a stark reminder that breast cancer is a disease that continues to take and rip apart far too many lives, not just here but around the world.

“We’re determined to realise our bold ambition that by 2050, everyone with breast cancer will live and live well, and we’re accelerating progress through building global collaborations with researchers and funders, as together we can go further, faster to ensure that every woman, no matter where she lives, can access early diagnosis, effective treatment and the support she needs.”

Sophie Brooks, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, added: “These figures are a sad reminder of the heavy toll breast cancer continues to take on women around the world.

“Prevention remains a key way to reduce rates, with a significant number of cases globally linked to preventable factors like smoking, overweight and obesity, and alcohol.”