Summary
Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in most countries in Asia. The incidence rates remain low, although increasing at a more rapid rate than in western countries, due to changes in the lifestyle and diet. There are many differences between breast cancer in Asia compared with western countries. The mean age at onset is younger than in the west, and unlike the west, the age-specific incidence decreases after the age of 50 years. Because there is no population-based breast cancer screening program in the majority of Asian countries, the majority of patients present with advanced disease. There is a higher proportion of hormone receptor-negative patients, and some evidence that the cancers in Asia are of a higher grade. Most of the Asian countries are low- and middle-income countries, where access to effective care is limited. Because of the late detection and inadequate access to care, survival of women with breast cancer in Asia is lower than in western countries. Improving breast health in most of the Asian countries remains a challenge that may be overcome with collaboration from multiple sectors, both public and private.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Parkin DM, Whelan SL, Ferlay J, Storm H (2005) Cancer incidence in five continents, volumes I–VIII. IARC CancerBase no. 6. IARC Press, Lyon, France (http://www-dep.iarc.fr).
Seow A, Duffy SW, McGee MA, Lee J, Lee HP. (1996). Breast cancer in Singapore: trends in incidence 1965–1992. Int J Epidemiol25, 40–5.
Yang BH, Parkin DM, Cai L, Zhang ZF. (2004). Cancer burden and trends in the Asian Pacific Rim Region. Asian Pac. J Cancer Prev5, 96–117.
Ziegler RG, Hoover RN, Pike MC, et al. (1993). Migration patterns and breast cancer risk in Asian-American women. J Natl Cancer Inst85, 1819–27.
Bray F, McCarron P, Parkin DM. (2004). The changing global patterns of female breast cancer incidence and mortality. Breast Cancer Res 6, 229–39.
Lim GCC, Halimah Y (eds). (2004). Cancer incidence in Malaysia 2003. National Cancer Registry, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Yip CH, Taib NA, Mohamed I. (2006). Epidemiology of breast cancer in Malaysia. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev7, 369–74.
Son BH, Kwak BS, Kim JK, et al. (2006). Changing patterns in the clinical characteristics of Korean patients with breast cancer during the last 15 years. Arch Surg141, 155–60.
Henderson BE, Ross R, Bernstein L. (1988). Estrogens as a cause of human cancer: the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award Lecture. Cancer Res48, 246–53.
Moolgavkar SH, Stevens RG, Lee JA. (1979). Effect of age on incidence of breast cancer in females. J Natl Cancer Inst62, 493–501
1 1. Minami Y, Tsubono Y, Nishima Y, Ohuchi N, Shibuya D, Hisamichi S. (2004). The increase in female breast cancer incidence in Japan: emergence of a birth cohort effect. Int J Cancer108, 901–6.
Yoshimoto M, Tada K, Hori H, et al. (2004). Improvement in the prognosis of Japanese breast cancer patients from 1946–2001: an institutional review. Jpn J Clin Oncol34, 457–62.
Hisham AN, Yip CH. (2003). Spectrum of breast cancer in Malaysian women: an overview. World J Surg27, 921–23.
Aggarwal G, Pradeep PV, Aggarwal V, Yip CH, Cheung PS. (2007). Spectrum of breast cancer in Asian women. World J Surg31, 1031–40.
Remenick L. (2006). The challenge of early breast cancer detection among immigrant and minority women in multicultural societis. Breast J12, S103–S110.
Parsa P, Kandiah M, Abdul Rahman H, Mohd Zulkefli NA. (2006). Barriers for breast cancer screening among Asian women: a mini literature review. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev7, 509–14.
Hebert JR, Ghumare SS, Gupta PC. (2006). Stage at diagnosis and relative differences in breast and prostate cancer incidence in India: comparison with the United States. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev7, 547–55.
Al-Moundhari M, Al-Bahrani B, Pervez J, et al. (2004). The outcome of treatment of breast cancer in a developing country–Oman. Breast13, 139–45.
Vahdaninia1 M, Montazeri A. (2004). Breast cancer in Iran: a survival analysis. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev5, 223–25.
Ahn SH, Yoo KY. (2006). The Korean Breast Cancer Society. Chronological changes of clinical characteristics in 31,115 new breast cancer patients among Koreans during 1996–2004. Breast Cancer Res Treat99, 209–14.
21.Tan EY, Wong HB, Ang BK, Chan MY. (2005). Locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer in a tertiary hospital. Ann Acad Med Singap34, 595–601.
22..Klonoff-Cohen HS, Schaffroth LB, Edel-stein SL, Molgaard C, Saltzstein SL. (1998). Breast cancer histology in Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and PacificIs-landers. Ethn Health3, 189–98.
Sakamoto G, Sugano H. (1991). Pathology of breast cancer: present and prospect in Japan. Breast Cancer Res Treat18, S581–S583.
Harirchi I, Karbakhsh M, Kashefi A, Momtahen AJ. (2004). Breast cancer in Iran: results of a multicentre study. Asia Pac J Cancer Prev 5, 24–7.
CH Yip, LM Looi. (1996). Breast cancer in Malaysian women–pathological features and treatment. Asian J Surg 19, 112.
Gapstur SM, Dupuis J, Gann P, Collila S, Winchester DP. (1996). Hormone receptor status of breast tumors in black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white women. An analysis of 13,239 cases. Cancer 77, 1465–71.
Li CI Malone KE, Daling JR. (2002). Differences in breast cancer hormone receptor status and histology by race and ethnicity among women 50 years of age and older. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 11, 601–7.
Desai SB, Moonim MT, Gill AK, Punia RS, Naresh KN, Chinoy RF. (2000) Hormone receptor status of breast cancer in India: a study of 798 tumours. Breast 9, 267–70.
29.Navani S, Bhaduri AS. (2005). High incidence of oestrogen receptor negative progesterone receptor positive phenotype in Indian breast cancer: fact or fiction? Indian J Pathol Microbiol 48, 199–201.
Aryandono T, Harijadi, Soeripto. (2006). Hormone receptor status of operable breast cancer patients in Indonesia: correlation with other prognostic factors and survival. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 7, 321–4.
31.Sughayer MA, Al-Khawaja MM, Massarweh S, Al-Masri M. (2006). Prevalence of hormone receptors and HE2/neu in breast cancer cases in Jordan. Pathol Oncol Res 12, 83–6.
Chow LW, Ho P. (2000). Hormonal receptor determination of 1,052 Chinese breast cancers. J Surg Oncol 75, 172–5.
Li CI, Daling JR, Malone KE. (2003). Incidence of invasive breast cancer by hormone receptor status from 1992 to 1998. J Clin Oncol 21, 28–34.
Pujol P, Hilsenbeck SG, Chamness GC, Elledge RM. (1994). Rising levels of estrogen receptor in breast cancer over 2 decades. Cancer 74, 1601–6.
Bloom HJG, Richardson WW. (1957) His-tological grading and prognosis in breast cancer. Br J Cancer 11, 359–77.
Elston CW, Ellis IO. (2002). Pathological prognostic factors in breast cancer. The value of histological grade in breast cancer: experience from a large study with long-term follow-up. Histopathology 41, 154–61.
Aryandono T, Harijadi, Soeripto. (2006). Survival from operable breast cancer: p r ognostic factors in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev6, 455–9.
Zhang T, Tu X, Xu W. (1998). A study of prognostic factors in breast cancer: histological grading. Zhong Hua Bing Li Xue Za Zhi27, 405–7
Meyer JS, Alvarez C, Milikowski C, et al. (2005). Breast carcinoma malignancy grading by Bloom—Richardson system vs proliferation index: reproducibility of grade and advantages of proliferation index. Mod Pathol18, 1067–78.
40 Sikka M, Agarwal S, Bhatia A. (1999). Interobserver agreement of the Nottingham histologic grading scheme for infiltrating duct carcinoma breast. Indian J Cancer36, 149–53.
Menard S, Taqliabue E, Campiqlio M, Pupa SM. (2000). Role of HER2 gene overepression in breast carcinoma. J Cell Physiol182, 150–62.
Homael-Shandiz F, Ghavam-Nassiri MR, Sharif N, et al. (2006). Evaluation of the relationship between human epidermal growth factor receptor-2/neu (c-erbB-2) amplification and pathologic grading in patients with breast cancer. Saudi Med J27, 1810–4.
Cianfrocca M, Goldstein LJ. (2004). Prognostic and predictive factors in early stage breast cancer. Oncologist9, 606–16.
Sankaranarayanan R, Swaminathan R, Black RJ. (1996). Global variations in cancer survival. Cancer8, 2461–4.
Pal SK, Mittal B. (2004). Fight against cancer in countries with limited resources: the post-genomic era scenario. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev5, 328–33.
Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P. (2005). Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin55, 74–108.
Moore MA, Kazuo T, Pham Hoang Anh, et al. (2003). Grand challenges in global health and the practical prevention program? Asian focus on cancer prevention in females of the developing world. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev4, 153–65.
Shapiro S, Venet W, Strax P, et al. (1988). Periodic screening for breast cancer: the Health Insurance Plan project and its sequelae, 1963–1986. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Nystrom Lrutqvist LE, Wall S, et al. (1993). Breast screening with mammography: overview of the Swedish Randomized Trials. Lancet17, 973–8.
Roberts MM, Alexander FE, Anderson TJ, et al. (1990) Edinburgh trial of screening for breast cancer: mortality at 7 years. Lancet335, 241–6.
Andersson I, Aspergren K, Janzon L, et al. (1988). Mammographic screening and mortality from breast cancer: the Malmo mammographic screening trial. BMJ297, 943–8.
Frisell J, Eklund G, Hellstrom L, et al. (1991). Randomized study of mammography screening-preliminary report on mortality in the Stockholm trial. Breast Cancer Res Treat18, 49–56.
Miller AB, To T, Baines CJ, Wall C. (2002). The Canadian National Breast Screening Study 1: breast cancer mortality after 11 to 16 years of follow-up. A randomized screening trial of mammography in women aged 40–49 years. Ann Intern Med137, 305–12.
Ng EH, Ng FH, Tan PH, Low SC, Chiang G, et al. (1998). Results of intermediate measures from a population based randomized trial of mammographic screening-prevalence and detection of breast carcinoma among Asian women. Cancer82, 1521–8.
Leung GM, Lam TH, Thach TQ, Hedley AJ. (2002). Will screening mammography in the east do more harm than good? Am J Public Health92, 1841–6.
Hill D, White V, Jolley D, Mapperson K. (1988). Self examination of the breast: is it beneficial? A meta-analysis of studies investigating breast self-examination and extent of disease in patients with breast cancer. BMJ297, 271–5.
Thomas DB, Gao DL, Ray RM, Wang WW, Allison CJ, et al. (2002). Randomized trial of breast self-examination in Shanghai: final results. J Natl Cancer Inst94, 1445–57.
Hackshaw AK, Paul EA. (2003). Breast Self examination and death from breast cancer: a meta-analysis. Br J Cancer88, 1047–53.
Bancej C, Decker K, Chiarelli A, Harrison M, Turner D, Brisson J. (2003). Contribution of CBE to mammography screening in the early detection of breast cancer. J Med Screen10, 16–21.
Oestreicher N, White E, Lehman CD, Man-delson MT, Porter PL, Taplin SH. (2002). Predictors of sensitivity of CBE. Breast Cancer Res Treat76, 73–81.
Weiss NS. (2003). Breast cancer mortality in relation to CBE and BSE. Breast J9, S86–S89
Pisani P, Parkin DM, Ngelangel C, Esteban D, et al. (2006). Outcome of screening by clinical examination of the breast in a trial in the Philippines. Int J Cancer118, 149–54.
Parisa P, Kandiah M, Abdul Rahman H, Mohd Zulkefli NA. (2006). Barriers to breast cancer screening among Asian women: a mini literature review. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev7, 509–514.
Varun G. (2001). Are incentives everything? Payment mechanisms for health care providers in developing countries. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 2624. (http://ssrn.com/abstract=632692)
Goldhirsch A, Glick JH, Gelber RD, Coates AS, Thurlimann B, Senn HJ. (2005). Meeting highlights: international expert consensus on the primary therapy of early breast cancer. Ann Oncol16, 1569–83.
Carlson RW, Anderson BO, Burstein HJ, Cox CE, Edge SB, Farrar WB, et al. (2005) Breast cancer. J Natl Compr Canc Netw3, 238–89.
World Health Organization. (2002). Executive summary of the national cancer control programmes: policies and managerial guidelines. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Smith RA, Caleffi M, Albert US, Chen TH, Duffy SW, Franceschi D, et al. (2006). Breast cancer in limited-resource countries: early detection and access to care. Breast J 12, S16–S26.
Shyyan R, Masood S, Badwe RA, Errico KM, Liberman L, Ozmen V, et al. (2006). Breast cancer in limited-resource countries: diagnosis and pathology. Breast J 12, S27–S37.
Eniu A, Carlson RW, Aziz Z, Bines J, Hortobagyi GN, Bese NS, et al. (2006). Breast cancer in limited-resource countries: treatment and allocation of resources. Breast J12, S38–S53.
Anderson BO, Yip CH, Ramsey SD, Bengoa R, Braun S, Fitch M, et al. (2006). Breast cancer in limited-resource countries: health care systems and public policy. Breast J12, S54–S69.
Anderson BO, Shyyan R, Eniu A, Smith RA, Yip CH, Bese NS, et al. (2006). Breast cancer in limited-resource countries: an overview of the Breast Health Global Initiative 2005 guidelines. Breast J12., S3–S15.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Yip, CH. (2009). Breast Cancer in Asia. In: Verma, M. (eds) Cancer Epidemiology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 471. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-416-2_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-416-2_3
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-987-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-416-2
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols