For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/28Z917W The regional rise in age-standardised incidence has been running at four to eight times the global average since the 1990s. Meanwhile, the disease is no longer a concern large of developed countries but has become an increasingly important one in many emerging market states, where it is frequently now the most common form of cancer among females.

1. 10 China
43 Japan
41 South Korea
45 Taiwan
44 Hong Kong
24 Thailand
27 Malaysia
43 Singapore
48 Australia
8 India
Overall
Country
Score
220114
667888
666788
868788
867788
440673
442458
866788
888888
220103
Awarenessraising
Earlydetection
Treatmentquality&access
Long-termsurvivorsupport
&opennesstoadvocacy
Palliativecare
Datacollection
HOW PREPARED ARE
COUNTRIES TO RESPOND?
Success against breast cancer requires health systems to engage in a wide range of
activities simultaneously. These include data gathering; awareness-raising; establishing
the facilities to encourage and engage in early diagnosis; providing multi-disciplinary
treatment which provides a co-ordinated range of interventions depending on individual
circumstances; ensuring long-term care and support for those who have been through
primary treatment; and providing palliative care for women who are dying from the
disease. To get a better view of how countries in the region are addressing this disease,
The EIU has produced a detailed scorecard which considers policy around all these
aspects of breast cancer control. Countries were ranked on their aggregate score across
six areas of breast cancer policy deemed to be most important.
Each category was scored from 0, for very weak, to 8, for very strong.
Note:
1
Country figures in: J Ferlay et al.,
Globocan 2012 v1.0:
Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide, 2013
http://globocan.iarc.fr
MR:IR
Highest rate of MR:IR
0.16
Hong Kong
0.19
Japan
0.12
South Korea
0.18
Taiwan0.16
Australia
0.49
Malaysia
0.38
Thailand
0.49
India
0.30%
MR:IR
world average
0.24
China
0.24
Singapore
Lowest rate of
five-year survival
89%
Japan
WHERE BREAST CANCER
IS DEADLIEST
If caught early, breast cancer is largely treatable. In well-off countries in the region,
the five-year survival rate (the percentage of people who are alive five years after
diagnosis) is typically between around 80% and 92%, with five countries having
figures roughly comparable to that in the United States. But data indicate that
progress against the disease is highly uneven in the region, with five-year survival
rates in developing countries such as Thailand, India and Malaysia far behind their
developed country counterparts. Moreover, national figures mask huge disparities
within countries, notably between urban and rural areas. Mortality ratio:Incidence
ratio figures (which show the number of deaths as a percentage of incidence) must
be viewed with caution in some cases, due to incomplete data. In China, for example,
though collection of incidence information has improved, cancer registries rely
on the country’s death statistics system, which Globocan describes as incomplete.
Mortality rates may well be under-estimated and, given the magnitude of the
numbers involved, even a small increase would raise the MR:IR ratio quickly.
87%
Taiwan 80%
Singapore 73%
China
90%
Hong Kong
92%
South Korea
89%
Australia
49%
Malaysia
63%
Thailand
52%
India
Five-year survival rates
89%
US five-year
survival rate
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
Breast cancer on the rise
Percentage increase in estimated number of breast cancer cases between 2012 and 2025
12%
South Korea
26%
Australia
22%
China
34%
India
37%
Singapore
49%
Malaysia
4%
Japan
19%
Thailand
WHERE
BREAST CANCER
IS MOST
COMMON
Incidence per 100,000
There is substantial variation in the incidence of breast cancer
between countries in the region. The age-standardised rate
(ASR) of incidence in China, for example, is about one-quarter
that in Australia. Based on recent trends, however, the burden
of breast cancer looks set to grow, as lifestyles change and
especially as populations age.
29.3
Thailand
51.5
Japan
64.3
Taiwan
86.0
Australia
61.2
Hong Kong
38.7
Malaysia
65.7
Singapore
52.1
South Korea
25.8
India
22.1
China
BREAST CANCER IN ASIA
The challenge and response
© The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2016.
Once largely confined to Western countries and Australasia, breast cancer is now a major healthcare issue across
Asia-Pacific. Already it is the most common form of cancer for women in nine of the ten Asia-Pacific jurisdictions
covered in Breast cancer in Asia: The challenge and response,
an Economist Intelligence Unit study commissioned by Pfizer.
Sources:
Where breast cancer is most common: Globocan
What the future holds: EIU calculations based on data from Globocan and United Nations World Population Prospects
Where breast cancer is deadliest: National cancer registries, EIU calculations
To view the full report and understand how Asian countries
are responding to the challenge of breast cancer, click here.