Israel Reports Over 5,500 New Breast Cancer Cases in 2023

The Israeli Ministry of Health has released national cancer registry data for 2023, revealing that 5,565 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed. Breast cancer remains the most common malignancy among women in Israel, accounting for approximately one-third of all new cancer diagnoses in this demographic. Of the new cases, 4,858 were invasive and 707 were non-invasive.

Despite relatively high incidence rates compared to global averages, Israel demonstrates significantly lower mortality rates from the disease. The data indicates that Israel ranks 33rd worldwide in breast cancer incidence but 125th in mortality, a disparity attributed to advanced diagnostic and treatment methods leading to high survival rates.

Positive trends include a notable decrease in the risk of invasive breast cancer. Since 2013, there has been an average annual decline of 1.6% in risk among Jewish and other women, while rates among Arab women have stabilized since 2015. Furthermore, an increasing number of tumors are being diagnosed at earlier stages, with a concurrent reduction in diagnoses at the metastatic stage.

As of the end of 2023, 25,466 women in Israel were living with a breast cancer diagnosis from the period 2019-2023. In 2023, 999 women died from the disease, representing about 18% of all cancer-related deaths among women in Israel. Since 1996, there has been a significant decrease in mortality among Jewish and other women, while rates have remained stable for Arab women. The five-year relative survival rate for those diagnosed between 2012 and 2019 was 92% for Jewish and other women and 87% for Arab women, with even higher improvements for those diagnosed more recently.