Breast Cancer: A Major Health Hazard

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer occurring in females with an estimated burden of 1.38 million (23%) new cases worldwide, in 2008 (692,200 and 691,300 cases in developed and developing countries, respectively) (Ferlay et al., 2010) and ranks second most common cancer overall. About 458,400 deaths were projected because of breast cancer from which 60% of the deaths were reported in developing countries (Ferlay et al., 2010; Jemal et al., 2011). During past few years the incidence of breast cancer has risen in developed countries; in contrast the death rate has steadily decreased. However, in developing countries like India and others; both incidence and mortality rates have been increased (Jemal et al., 2011). In India, 115,251 new breast cancer cases with an age standardized incidence rate of 22.9 per 100,000 were estimated in 2008 (Ferlay et al., 2010) and by 2015; the incidence rate will reach just under 250,000 per year (Parkin et al., 2005). Like other malignancies, breast cancer is considered to be a genetic disease. Both genetic and non-genetic factors play a crucial role at various stages in tumorigenesis