Breast Cancer Facts and Statistics

General facts

• Over 48,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK*
• Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK. It accounts for nearly 1 in 3 of all cancers in women
• 1 in 8 women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime
• Around 1,000 women die of breast cancer every month in the UK*
• Over 80% of breast cancers in the UK occur in women over 50 years of age
• Around 350 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK*
• It is estimated that five out of six women diagnosed with breast cancer in England and Wales will survive for at least five years
• The most recent estimate suggests over half a million women are alive in the UK having had a diagnosis of breast cancer at some point in their lifetime

Breast cancer in Scotland

• Nearly 4,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in Scotland*
• Around 1,000 women die of breast cancer every year in Scotland*
• Around 25 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in Scotland*
• The most recent estimate suggests over 46,000 women are alive in Scotland having had a diagnosis of breast cancer at some point in their lifetime

Breast cancer risk factors

• Very little is known about the exact causes of breast cancer. It is thought to be caused by a combination of our genes, lifestyle and environment
• Getting older is the biggest known risk factor: the older you get the higher your risk of developing the disease. The risk of breast cancer increases with age and over 80% of all cases in the UK occur in women aged over 50
• In order to understand more about how breast cancer can be prevented, its causes must be found. Breakthrough has launched the Breakthrough Generations Study, in partnership with The Institute of Cancer Research, dedicated to investigating the causes of breast cancer. If you would like more information about the Breakthrough Generations Study, please visit the website

Family history of breast cancer

• The majority of people who develop breast cancer do not have a strong family history of the disease. For most women, age is the biggest risk factor
• Around 5% of breast cancers are due to inherited faults in breast cancer genes (such as BRCA1 and BRCA2) that lead to a high risk of developing the disease
• A family history of breast cancer is identified as an unusually high number of close relatives with breast or other types of cancer, breast cancers at a young age, or breast cancers in men as well as women