Breast cancer: Scottish data

The discussion below focuses on breast cancer in women. There are over 4,200 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year in women in Scotland, compared with only a handful for men (15 in 2020).

Incidence

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Scotland, accounting for 28.0% of all cancers diagnosed, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer. Chart 1
 Close  shows that the incidence of breast cancer among women in Scotland is increasing over time. Breast cancer incidence increases with age and it is relatively rare among women under age 40.

The PHS data file below includes breast cancer registrations data for individual health board areas. For breast cancer registrations data at local authority level see the Scottish Government open data platform.

PHS publication and data: Cancer Incidence in Scotland

Mortality

Chart 2
 Close  shows that breast cancer mortality in women in Scotland has decreased since the early 1990s, despite increasing incidence. However, breast cancer is still the second most common cause of cancer death in women.

PHS data file: Breast cancer annual mortality (971Kb)

Survival

Five year survival for women diagnosed with breast cancer has increased substantially from 70.7% for those diagnosed between 1987 and 1991 to 86.0% for those diagnosed between 2013 and 2017. Survival tends to be higher for younger women. The improvement in survival is likely to be due to a combination of factors including earlier diagnosis in women participating in the Scottish Breast Screening Programme, improvements in treatment, and better organisation and delivery of care for patients.

PHS publication and data: Cancer Survival in Scotland

Prevalence

The increase in incidence alongside a decrease in mortality means that the prevalence of breast cancer in women in Scotland is increasing. At the end of 2020 1.8% of women in Scotland had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the previous 20 years.

PHS publication and data: Cancer Incidence in Scotland

Lifetime risk

For women living in Scotland, the risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetime is 11.6%. In other words, 1 in 8.5 women in Scotland will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.

PHS publication and data: Cancer Incidence in Scotland

Deprivation

Breast cancer is more common in affluent areas, which is linked to the higher prevalence of key risk factors in women from affluent areas. For women diagnosed with breast cancer, mortality does not show any correlation with deprivation.

PHS publication and data: Cancer Incidence in Scotland

Breast Screening

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme began in 1988 with full national coverage being attained in 1991. Women aged 50-64 were invited for a routine screen every 3 years until 2003/04 when the age range was extended to include women up to the age of 70 years. Our most recent data tables, including performance standards and uptake figures can be found at the link below:

PHS publication: Scottish breast screening programme statistics

Standardised rates

Please note all age sex standardised rates listed above are standardised using the 2013 European standard population. For more information, please consult Appendix I of the PHS publication Cancer Incidence in Scotland