The term cancer covers more than a hundred diseases that share one trait: the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that destroy healthy tissues and have the potential to spread outside its site of origin. In 2007, there were about 2,700 new cases of breast cancer. One in every 20 females may have a chance to develop breast cancer in her lifetime and 8 women being diagnosed every day in Hong Kong. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer for women and has the third highest cancer mortality rate(1) . Medical research shows that breast cancer mortality rate can be reduced by 20%-30% with regular mammogram screening(2). Knowledge of how to avoid and minimize risk factors, and early detection followed by specialist medical treatment, give a breast cancer patient the best chance of full recovery and a long and healthy life.

Breast Cancer – the No. 1 cancer in Hong Kong women

Breast cancer is the top cancer among women in Hong Kong since 1994. In the year 2001 there were nearly 2000 new patients with breast cancer. Accordingly 1 in every 23 Hong Kong women will have breast cancer in their life time.

Compared to western countries where 1 in every 10 women will have breast cancer, Hong Kong is lower in incidence. However, Hong Kong is above world average in the incidence of breast cancer. Judging from local statistics our numbers and rates are expected to rise steeply in the years to come. We might catch up with the West eventually. Can we do anything about this?

Breast cancer is a disease in developed, industrialized and affluent countries. It has been the number 1 cancer in women in North America, Europe, Australia and, in the past 1-2 decades, in ‘developed regions’ in Asia. Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila, Shanghai, Korea and Japan are undergoing the same process of westernization after the Second World War. Their breast cancer rates are all climbing.

Medical experts are still not sure on the causes of breast cancer. We suspect multiple factors are involved. We know a little about the risk factors: early first period, late menopause, taking oestrogen replacement therapy, not having children, not breast-feeding, family history of breast cancer, history of benign typical lesions in the breast, alcohol, obesity, high meat / fat diet, and lack of exercise. There are lots that we do not know yet.

Perhaps a change in life style can lower the risk of having breast cancer. Things that women can control: having babies, breast-feeding, minimize taking oestrogens, reduce meat / fat intake, increase fresh vegetables / fruits, having a plant-based diet and more exercise. All these are controllable at a personal level and belong to primary prevention.

The good news is: in the past 20 years, despite the rising rates of breast cancer, the death-rate under breast cancer did not increase in parallel and in fact is dropping in both UK and USA. Medical technology has advanced and is advancing every day. We have witnessed the evolution in the early detection of cancer, less mutilating surgery, innovative techniques in radiotherapy and improved systemic treatment using chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and targeted therapy of breast cancer in the past quarter of a century. Things can only go better and better in the management of breast cancer.

(July 2008)

⁽¹⁾ Hong Kong Cancer Statistics 2007, Hong Kong Cancer Registry
⁽²⁾ Cochrance Review (Lancet 2001)
    Working group of IARC (Lyon 2002)
    Global Summit ( Milan 2003)