WHO Reveals Global Breast Cancer Survival Gaps

The report examined women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2017 and 2021 and found a global median five-year net survival rate of 77.8%.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released the first-ever global estimates of five-year breast cancer survival covering all 194 Member States, providing countries with a benchmark to measure progress in improving cancer care. The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, reveal significant differences in survival rates across regions and income levels, highlighting persistent inequalities in access to early diagnosis and effective treatment.

The report examined women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2017 and 2021 and found a global median five-year net survival rate of 77.8%. Survival rates varied considerably from one region to another. The Region of the Americas recorded the highest median survival at 88.5%, followed by the European Region at 84.0%, while the African Region had the lowest survival rate at 39.1%.

Income level also played a major role in patient outcomes. Countries classified as low income had a median five-year survival rate of 41.9%, compared with 60.1% in lower-middle-income countries, 78.7% in upper-middle-income countries, and 87.3% in high-income countries.

Early diagnosis remains key to improving survival

According to WHO, breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in 158 countries. In 2024, the disease caused an estimated 694,000 deaths worldwide, with 70% of those deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Around eight million women were living with breast cancer, most of them in high-income nations.

Dr. Alarcos Cieza, Unit Head for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO, said breast cancer survival reflects how effectively health systems detect the disease early and provide timely, high-quality treatment. He explained that survival rates combine the impact of early detection, rapid diagnosis, access to effective therapies and the overall quality of patient care. The new estimates are intended to support the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI), which seeks to reduce premature breast cancer deaths by 2.5% each year and save 2.5 million lives by 2040.

The report found that the stage at which breast cancer is diagnosed remains one of the strongest predictors of survival. Countries where more women are diagnosed in advanced stages generally experience much lower long-term survival rates.

Data gaps highlight need for stronger cancer surveillance

To produce the global estimates, WHO combined survival information from cancer registries in 67 of its 194 Member States with statistical modelling that considered factors such as stage at diagnosis, access to cancer medicines, radiotherapy services, mammography capacity and overall adult mortality.

The analysis also exposed major gaps in cancer surveillance. Among the 36 fragile and conflict-affected countries, only two had sufficient observed data available, demonstrating the need for stronger cancer registration systems and better health information worldwide.

WHO said the findings reinforce the importance of the three main goals of the Global Breast Cancer Initiative. These include ensuring that 60% of invasive breast cancers are diagnosed at Stage I or Stage II, providing diagnosis within 60 days after a patient first seeks medical attention, and ensuring that at least 80% of patients who require multimodality treatment receive it.

The organisation developed the estimates through a two-stage consultation with Member States, allowing governments to review the methodology, assess preliminary findings and contribute national data where available. WHO said this collaborative approach was designed to improve transparency, strengthen country ownership of the results and provide a reliable baseline for monitoring future progress in breast cancer control.