Metastatic breast cancers: Estimates for Italy

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in Italy.
• Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer presents significant clinical challenges.
• Data on the prevalence of stage IV breast cancer in Italy were previously unavailable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the burden of stage IV breast cancer in Italy.
• To quantify newly diagnosed and progressing metastatic breast cancer cases.
• To provide data for healthcare professionals and policymakers.

Main Methods:

• Utilized mortality-incidence ratios from the US (2013) applied to Italian mortality data (2014).
• Calculated de novo (newly diagnosed) and distant recurrence (progressed) stage IV breast cancer cases.
• Estimated prevalent metastatic breast cancer using US mortality-prevalence ratios.

Main Results:

• In 2014, Italy recorded 12,330 breast cancer deaths.
• Approximately 3,400 new stage IV breast cancer cases were diagnosed (7.1% of all new cases).
• Over 10,000 existing breast cancer cases progressed to stage IV, totaling ~37,100 prevalent stage IV cases (5.6% of all prevalent BC).

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first estimates of stage IV breast cancer burden in Italy.
• The findings offer crucial data for understanding and managing metastatic breast cancer.
• Results support informed decision-making for clinicians and health policy development.