Approximately 14,000 women per year are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and approximately 2,400 with in-situ breast cancer. The average age at the time of diagnosis is approximately 61 years.
Each year around 3,000 women die as a consequence of breast cancer. Approximately 1 in 8 women in the Netherlands will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. This makes breast cancer the most prevalent type of cancer in the Netherlands, with a ten-year prevalence of 128,000.
Factors associated with an elevated risk of breast cancer are: a family history of prevalent breast cancer; early puberty; relatively late motherhood; relatively small number of children; use of oral contraception; dense breast tissue. Other risk factors are alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and obesity.
The treatment of breast cancer depends on the stage and nature
of the tumour and the prospects of survival. On average, over 87%
of women diagnosed with breast cancer survive at least 5 years
following this diagnosis and over 77% survive at least 10 years.