Introduction

In developed countries, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women.

Since 2015, more than 60,000 new cases have been diagnosed every year in France. The number of new cases has increased every year since 1990.

There are 12,000 deaths a year, making this cancer the leading cause of cancer death in women. However, the prognosis has improved markedly since the 1990s. Today, survival, all stages and all forms combined, is greater than 85% at 5 years. This improvement is explained by screening, better understanding of the disease (there are several “biological” types of breast cancer), more targeted and more effective treatments and better support for patients.
Breast cancer is therefore a public health priority. Reducing its frequency and further improving its prognosis are essential, as the consequences of this disease are important in the lives of women, families and for society.

Finally, it should be noted that breast cancer can occur in men (a little less than 1% of breast cancers), with treatment methods largely superimposable on those used in women.