Female breast cancer mortality rates in Turkey.

The main objective of this study was to analyze the mortality trends of female breast cancer in Turkey between the years 1987-2008. The rates per 100,000 age-standardized to the European standard population were assessed and time trends presented using joinpoint regression analysis. Average annual percent change (AAPC), anual percent change (APC) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. Nearly 23,000 breast cancer deaths occurred in Turkey during the period 1987-2008, with the average annual age-standardized mortality rate (ASR) being 11.9 per 100,000 women. In the last five years, significant increases were observed in all age groups, but there was no significant change over the age of 65. In this period, the biggest significant increase was in the 45-54 age group (AAPC=4.3, 95%CI=2.6 to 6.0).