Breast cancer kills roughly 670,000 people worldwide each year, based on 2022 estimates from the World Health Organization. In the United States alone, an estimated 42,140 women will die from breast cancer in 2026. It is the second leading cause of cancer death among American women, behind only lung cancer.
Global and U.S. Deaths at a Glance
In 2022, about 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer globally, and 670,000 died from it. That means roughly 1 in 3.4 people diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide will ultimately die from the disease, though survival varies enormously depending on where a person lives and how early the cancer is caught.
In the United States, the numbers are more favorable. For 2026, federal cancer registries project about 321,910 new diagnoses of female breast cancer alongside 42,140 deaths. The gap between diagnoses and deaths is much wider in the U.S. than in many lower-income countries, largely because of earlier detection through screening and access to treatment.
Deaths Have Dropped Significantly Since 1989
The long-term trend in the U.S. is encouraging. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer death rates fell 40% between 1989 and 2017. That decline is attributed to a combination of wider mammography screening, which catches tumors when they’re smaller and more treatable, and improvements in surgery, radiation, and drug therapies over the past three decades. Despite that progress, breast cancer still kills more than 40,000 Americans a year, making it one of the most lethal cancers in the country.
Who Is Most at Risk of Dying
Black Women Face Higher Mortality
Not everyone faces the same odds. Black women in the United States have a 41% higher breast cancer death rate than white women. During the period from 2005 to 2009, Black women died at a rate of 31.6 per 100,000, compared to 22.4 per 100,000 for white women. Put another way: for every 100 breast cancers diagnosed, 27 Black women died compared to 18 white women. That gap reflects a mix of factors, including later-stage diagnoses, higher rates of aggressive tumor types, and unequal access to timely treatment.
For both non-Hispanic Black women and Hispanic women, breast cancer is actually the leading cause of cancer death, surpassing even lung cancer. For women of other racial and ethnic groups, lung cancer holds the top spot.
Age and Breast Cancer Deaths
Breast cancer risk rises with age. Most deaths occur in women over 50, and the risk of dying continues to climb through the 60s and 70s. Younger women can and do develop breast cancer, but it accounts for a smaller share of total deaths. That said, breast cancer diagnosed in younger women tends to be more aggressive, which is why unusual lumps or changes at any age are worth investigating.
Men Die From Breast Cancer Too
Breast cancer in men is rare but real. About 2,300 men are diagnosed each year in the United States, and roughly 500 die from it, accounting for about 1% of all breast cancer cases. Male breast cancer is often caught later because most men aren’t aware they can get it, and there are no routine screening recommendations for them. A lump behind the nipple, skin changes on the chest, or nipple discharge are the warning signs.
How Breast Cancer Compares to Other Cancers
Among women in the U.S., breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second deadliest. Lung cancer kills more women overall, roughly 57,000 per year compared to breast cancer’s 42,000. But breast cancer is diagnosed far more often, so its survival rates are actually higher on a case-by-case basis. The five-year survival rate for breast cancer caught at an early, localized stage is above 99%, while late-stage diagnoses carry much grimmer odds. The stage at which cancer is found remains the single biggest factor in whether someone survives.
Globally, breast cancer overtook lung cancer in 2020 as the most commonly diagnosed cancer across all genders, a shift driven largely by rising rates in lower- and middle-income countries. In many of those regions, limited screening infrastructure means more cancers are found at advanced stages, which helps explain why global mortality numbers remain high even as death rates fall in wealthier nations.