In the UK, around 56,000 women and 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. The number of cases that could be prevented varies.
Sadly, not all breast cancer cases are preventable. Yet, studies tell us that by making changes to our lifestyle, we may be able to reduce our chances of getting breast cancer. At Breast Cancer UK we believe that at least 30% of breast cancers are preventable.
There are lots of scientific studies that look at breast cancer risk. Many of these studies vary in how they measure risk and the types of populations that are analysed, meaning it can be hard to accurately state how many cases can be prevented. This is why it is important to look at studies that look at something called the population attributable fraction. The population attributable fraction is the amount a risk factor contributes to a given disease.
At Breast Cancer UK, we have taken an estimate based on the population attributable fractions (as defined by The World Health Organisation – WHO) of diverse studies from around the world, as noted in the table below.
From the studies noted in the table below we estimate that at least 30% of breast cancer cases may be preventable. In our estimate, we have accounted for the limitation that many studies look at some risk factors and not others, as well as the fact that none of the studies incorporate an analysis of how chemical exposures may increase risk.
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Arthur, R. S., Wang, T., Xue, X., Kamensky, V., & Rohan, T. E. (2020). Genetic factors, adherence to healthy lifestyle behavior, and risk of invasive breast cancer among women in the UK biobank. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 112(9), 893–901.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djz241
Brown, K. F., Rumgay, H., Dunlop, C., Ryan, M., Quartly, F., Cox, A., Deas, A., Elliss-Brookes, L., Gavin, A., Hounsome, L., Huws, D., Ormiston-Smith, N., Shelton, J., White, C., & Parkin, D. M. (2018). The fraction of cancer attributable to modifiable risk factors in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom in 2015. British Journal of Cancer, 118(8), 1130–1141.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-018-0029-6
Catsburg, C., Miller, A. B., & Rohan, T. E. (2014). Adherence to cancer prevention guidelines and risk of breast cancer. International Journal of Cancer, 135(10), 2444–2452.
https://doi.org/10.1002/IJC.28887
Colditz, G. A., & Bohlke, K. (2014). Priorities for the primary prevention of breast cancer. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 64(3), 186–194.
https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21225
Islami, F., Goding Sauer, A., Miller, K. D., Siegel, R. L., Fedewa, S. A., Jacobs, E. J., McCullough, M. L., Patel, A. V., Ma, J., Soerjomataram, I., Flanders, W. D., Brawley, O. W., Gapstur, S. M., & Jemal, A. (2018). Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68(1), 31–54.
https://doi.org/10.3322/CAAC.21440
Kulhánová, I., Znaor, A., Shield, K. D., Arnold, M., Vignat, J., Charafeddine, M., Fadhil, I., Fouad, H., Al-Omari, A., Al-Zahrani, A. S., El-Basmy, A., Shamseddine, A., Bray, F., & Soerjomataram, I. (2020). Proportion of cancers attributable to major lifestyle and environmental risk factors in the Eastern Mediterranean region. International Journal of Cancer, 146(3), 646–656.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.32284
Lee, J. E., Lee, S. A., Kim, T. H., Park, S., Choy, Y. S., Ju, Y. J., & Park, E. C. (2018). Projection of breast cancer burden due to reproductive/lifestyle changes in Korean Women (2013-2030) using an age-period-cohort model. Cancer Research and Treatment, 50(4), 1388–1395.
https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2017.162
Masala, G., Bendinelli, B., Assedi, M., Occhini, D., Zanna, I., Sieri, S., Agnoli, C., Sacerdote, C., Ricceri, F., Mattiello, A., Panico, S., Tumino, R., Frasca, G., Saieva, C., & Palli, D. (2017). Up to one-third of breast cancer cases in post-menopausal Mediterranean women might be avoided by modifying lifestyle habits: the EPIC Italy study. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 161(2), 311–320.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-016-4047-x
Parkin, D. M. (2011). The fraction of cancer attributable to lifestyle and environmental factors in the UK in 2010: Introduction. British Journal of Cancer, 105, S2–S5.
https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2011.474
Poirier, A. E., Ruan, Y., Volesky, K. D., King, W. D., O’Sullivan, D. E., Gogna, P., Walter, S. D., Villeneuve, P. J., Friedenreich, C. M., & Brenner, D. R. (2019). The current and future burden of cancer attributable to modifiable risk factors in Canada: Summary of results. Preventive Medicine, 122, 140–147.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.04.007
Tamimi, R. M., Spiegelman, D., Smith-Warner, S. A., Wang, M., Pazaris, M., Willett, W. C., Eliassen, A. H., & Hunter, D. J. (2016). Population attributable risk of modifiable and nonmodifiable breast cancer risk factors in postmenopausal breast cancer. American Journal of Epidemiology, 184(12), 884–893.
https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kww145
Turati, F., Dalmartello, M., Bravi, F., Serraino, D., Augustin, L., Giacosa, A., Negri, E., Levi, F., & Vecchia, C. La. (2020). Adherence to the world cancer research fund/american institute for cancer research recommendations and the risk of breast cancer. Nutrients, 12(3).
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12030607
van Gemert, W. A., Lanting, C. I., Goldbohm, R. A., van den Brandt, P. A., Grooters, H. G., Kampman, E., Kiemeney, L. A. L. M., van Leeuwen, F. E., Monninkhof, E. M., de Vries, E., Peeters, P. H., & Elias, S. G. (2015). The proportion of postmenopausal breast cancer cases in the Netherlands attributable to lifestyle-related risk factors. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 152(1), 155–162.
