[Breast cancer in Austria: epidemiology and risk factors]

The incidence of breast cancer in Austria has been evaluated between 1971 and 1982. The incidence and mortality rates for this disease are comparable to the figures for Western Europe and the United States. A significant increase was observed in the overall incidence of breast cancer, which was, however, restricted to the age group before the 40th and after the 70th year of age. The incidence of breast cancer between 40 and 70 did not change significantly. The evaluation of high risk groups (first parity later than 30 years of age, nulliparity) showed decreasing incidence, whereas the frequency of women with early parity (earlier than 20 years of age)--representing a low-risk group--increased. Therefore, change of risk factors did not show any concordance with increasing breast cancer rate. Changes in diet in Austria over the past 30 years are discussed as a possible risk factor for increasing breast cancer rate.