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Breast Cancer Rates Rising Fast Among Asian American Women
By Najla Zaidi | 09 Jun, 2025
Breast cancer has risen sharply among younger Asian American women in the past quarter-century.
Until the turn of the century Asian American women had the second lowest rate of breast cancer. Today they are tied for first place with their white counterparts.
Since 2000 breast cancer incidence among Asian American and Pacific Islander women under 50 years old has increased by 50%, more than 2% every year since 2012, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. Asian American and Pacific Islander women in this age group had the second-lowest rate of breast cancer among all racial groups in 2000. They now have the highest rate alongside white women, about 86 per 100,000. The ethnicities with the greatest risk were Filipina, South Asian, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Between 2000 and 2021 the rate of new breast cancer cases increased by half (52%) among AAPI women younger than age 50; increased by a third (33%) for AAPI women ages 50 to 64 and rose 43% for AAPI women 65 and older according to data from the National Institutes of Health. During the same time, breast cancer rates for women of all ages, races and ethnicities increased by only 3%.
Breast cancer deaths among AAPI women have also increased. Although women in most racial and ethnic groups are seeing a decline, in 2023 about 12 of every 100,000 AAPI women of any age died from breast cancer, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In comparison, the breast cancer mortality rate for non-Hispanic white women in the U.S. was 19.4 deaths per 100,000 women between 2018 and 2022. Black women, however, had a higher mortality rate, with 29.4 deaths per 100,000. The breast cancer death rate among all women during that time dropped by 30%.
Research also shows that Asian women born in the United States have lower rates of breast cancer than those who immigrated to the U.S. later in life. The rates of breast cancer were almost two-and-a-half times higher among Asian women who spent less than 50% of their lives in the U.S., compared to their U.S. born peers. Race also appears to affect the type of breast cancer diagnoses women receive.
At younger ages Asian women are more likely to be diagnosed with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer and less likely to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, compared to non-Hispanic white women. At the same time, the incidence of ER- breast cancer is declining for Asian women. Those risks change with age. At older ages Asian women have higher proportions of triple-negative breast cancer, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, and grade 3 tumors than non-Hispanic white women. The exact reasons for this increase are still being researched, but there are several factors that may be to blame.
Adopting a “Western” lifestyle that includes a higher-fat diet, more sedentary behaviors, obesity and a higher intake of alcohol may lead to an increase in the risk for breast cancer. The adoption of lifestyle choices not endemic to Asia such as eating a Western diet high in refined grains and trans fats, said Scarlett Lin Gomez, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, “establish risk factors for breast cancer that have typically been more common in westernized and industrialized countries.”
Late pregnancies may increase the risk of breast cancer because breast cells have more time to accumulate genetic damage as a woman ages, and hormonal changes during pregnancy can stimulate the growth of damaged cells. In addition, hormone-related factors such as developmental and reproductive history, hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women, and obesity after menopause can be a factor in the uptick of cancer related diagnoses. There may be inherited genetic differences related to increased cancer risk that are more common in people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, but these risk genes may not be well understood yet.
Dense breast tissue, more common in Asian American women, further elevates this risk and complicates early detection, as dense tissue can obscure tumors on standard mammograms. Asian women have a higher prevalence of dense breasts — meaning there are more glands and tissue than fat — than women of other races, likely due to genetic factors and lower body mass indexes, experts say. And women with dense breasts are four times as likely to develop breast cancer as those with fatty breasts, an issue experts say needs more awareness.
Screening may also play a role in the disparities. Studies have found that more than 63% of Asian immigrants had a mammogram in the past 2 years, compared with just 37% of Asian women born in the U.S. Higher screening rates lead to increased rates of breast cancer detection.
Asian American women need to make more effort to discuss screening options with their health care providers to ensure early detection. Cultural stigmas around discussing health concerns, language barriers, and a lack of culturally tailored educational resources contribute to lower screening rates, often delaying diagnosis and treatment. Underestimating their risk can lead to fewer screenings, leaving many women vulnerable to late-stage diagnoses and more difficult treatment outcomes.
More than 310,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed this year in the US, with an estimated one in eight women diagnosed during their lifetimes. All women, regardless of race, should focus on lifestyle factors like exercising, keeping a healthy weight, eating nutritious foods, limiting or avoiding alcohol, and quitting smoking. These actions can help reduce the risk of being among the one in eight who develops breast cancer in her lifetime.
Since 2000, breast cancer incidence among Asian American and Pacific Islander women under 50 years old has increased by 50%, more than 2% every year since 2012, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.
Asian women need to be aware of their breast cancer risk and discuss screening options with their health care providers.
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