Breast cancer is the most common cancer in New Zealand women/wāhine. One in nine women will get breast cancer in their lifetime! We know from the Breast Cancer Foundation National Register (BCFNR) that over 3500 New Zealand women and 20-30 men are diagnosed annually.
Each year over 400 Waikato women and 2-3 men are diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly, each year in NZ we lose 600-700 of our loved ones to this disease.
In February, colleagues from the Breast Cancer Foundation released a national register report; “30,000 Voices: Informing a better future for breast cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand”; showing New Zealand’s progress in tackling breast cancer. Information from 30,000 breast cancer patients from the BCFNR was analysed.
This report shows the steady progress against breast cancer over the last two decades, we were amazed to see quite how much! Survival for women with breast cancer in NZ has improved very significantly. This has especially been the case for women with more aggressive types of breast cancer. There has been a major reduction is disparity of outcomes for our ethnic minorities. For Maori wāhine, five-year breast cancer specific survival has increased from 82-94%, for Pasifika women survival has increased from 81-91%.
It was also great to see significant improvements in breast conservation rates (and reduced mastectomy rates) for women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. This has particularly been the case here in the Waikato, where as a group, our surgeons have been relatively at the forefront of adopting new oncoplastic surgical techniques.
These improvements are due to a combination of better treatments, more screening coverage and finding cancers early with better breast awareness, and access to health care services. Behind all of this, is breast cancer clinical trials and introduction of more effective treatments and care. Whilst there is a lot to celebrate, this report also highlights areas where we need to do more.
Prior to the early 2000s women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer (also known as metastatic, incurable or Stage IV breast cancer) did not live for very long after this diagnosis. Nowadays, with modern targeted and novel drug treatments, women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer (ABC) not uncommonly live for greater than 10 years and have more time with loved ones. The BCFNR report shows an improvement in five-year survival over the last two decades from 16% to 40% for those living with ABC. One of these cases is a Waikato woman taking part in a novel (P13 kinase inhibitor) drug trial resulting in her going into remission for six years. Whilst ABC remains an incurable disease, these are huge advances, and we are on the cusp of finding a cure for some women with advanced disease. Leading this work in the Waikato, is Dr Marion Kuper (Medical Oncologist & Trustee Breast Cancer Research Trust).
Breast Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) staff run the Midlands/Waikato section of the BCFNR. We acknowledge the incredible work of Breast Cancer Foundation colleagues with making this a truly national register happen since January 2020! For further information on the 30,000 voices report go to https://www.breastcancerfoundation.org.nz/what-we-do/advocacy/2022-register-report-launch
– The BCRT Team
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