Study: Breast Cancer Diagnosed Earlier in U.S. Women

American women are more likely to survive breast cancer than their European counterparts because they are diagnosed earlier, according to an international team of researchers.

The number of women with breast cancer surviving more than five years after diagnosis in the United States is 89 per cent compared to 79 per cent across Europe as a whole, they reported in the journal Cancer.

Until now, it has been unclear whether the difference in survival rates might be attributable to different treatment approaches or better access in the United States to healthcare.

But the researchers, analyzing data on more than 17,000 patients, found that a greater proportion of early-stage tumors were discovered among the U.S. women.

They reported that 41 percent of the U.S. cases were diagnosed at an early stage, compared to just 29 percent in Europe.

Early treatment of breast cancer, which allows the disease to be treated before it has a chance to spread to other parts of the body, greatly improves survival rates.

"These findings reveal the urgent need to allocate more resources to ensure earlier diagnosis of breast cancer in Europe," said Professor Michel Coleman of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Other Sources: Cancer, BBC