Breast Cancer Patterns in Saudi Arabia (2007-2022): A Nationwide Cancer Registry Surveillance Study

Background: Population-based cancer registry surveillance is essential for monitoring breast cancer burden and guiding cancer control planning; however, national surveillance evidence from Saudi Arabia remains limited. Using the Saudi Cancer Registry (SCR), we describe the distribution of age at diagnosis, geographic location, registry stage, histology, and grade among Saudi women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2007 and 2022. Methods: We performed a retrospective descriptive study of all Saudi female breast cancer cases registered in the SCR from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2022 (N = 40,755). Variables were coded according to SEER guidelines; STATA 16 was used for analyses. Results: The average age at diagnosis among 40,755 cases was 51.85 years. The highest case volume was from Makkah (25.5%), Riyadh (23.6%), and the Eastern Province (15.9%). The national age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) increased from 18.2 to 49.7 per 100,000 women between 2007 and 2022. Invasive ductal carcinoma (no special type) was the most common histology (76.7%). Overall, 42.7% of cases were localized, 36.5% regional, 14.2% distant, and 6.6% unstaged. Stage distribution differed significantly by age group (χ²  =  98.1, p < 0.001) and by region (χ²  =  312.6, p < 0.001). Conclusions: National cancer registry data show marked regional differences in breast cancer incidence and a persistent proportion of late-stage diagnoses. These findings may inform early detection planning and region-specific cancer control strategies.