90 per cent survival rate for breast cancer patients diagnosed early, those below 40 face highest risk of recurrence: Hong Kong study
- Turning point for survival rate occurs between stages two and three, but treatment difficulty increases after stage two, decade-long study finds
- Breast cancer accounted for 12.2 per cent of cancer deaths among women in the city in 2020
Breast cancer patients who are diagnosed early have a 90 per cent survival rate, a decade-long study in Hong Kong has found, while patients below the age of 40 face the highest risk of remote recurrence after treatment.
The Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation released its findings on Wednesday and urged authorities to launch a government-funded mammography screening programme to facilitate early diagnosis
The organisation said its study showed that a turning point for the survival rate occurred between stages two and three of the disease, but treatment difficulty would increase after stage two. Stage four is the most life-threatening phase.
As the third leading cancer killer in the city, breast cancer accounted for 12.2 per cent of female cancer deaths in the city in 2020 and was the most common cancer affecting women in Hong Kong.
“Breast cancer discovered through regular medical checks tends to be in its early stages – this has been consistent in research data. Over 34 countries have nationwide screenings, some free and some subsidised,” said Dr Polly Cheung Suk-yee, founder of the foundation.
“For Hong Kong, only around 11 per cent of the diagnoses were detected through screening. If you can touch the tumour, it will be larger than 2cm and in the terminal stages. Don’t rely on touching a lump to decide if you need to see a doctor or not. If you want to find the tumour, you should get checked before you can feel it.”
According to the study, 82.4 per cent of breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2018 discovered their cancer by chance after reporting abnormalities in their bodies to doctors.
The study tracked about 8,000 breast cancer patients who were confirmed to have the disease between 2006 and 2018, and those who were diagnosed since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020. It found that the 10-year overall survival rate stood at 94.3 per cent and 90.2 per cent for stages one and two, respectively, with the figure rising to 97 per cent for stage zero patients.