Breast cancer
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- Breast cancer today: A growing global challenge
- Our R&D approach in breast cancer
- Accelerating our vision to transform care through collaboration
- Understanding breast cancer subtypes and biomarkers
- Bridging the gaps to improve breast cancer care
- Tackling barriers to optimal breast cancer care for underserved patient populations
As pioneers in breast cancer research and treatment for several decades, we remain committed to advancing science, developing innovative medicines and collaborating with the external community to break down barriers to optimal care for patients across all subtypes and stages of the disease. Our goal is to redefine the current clinical paradigm and transform outcomes for every person living with breast cancer. With the bold ambition to one day eliminate breast cancer as a cause of death, we aim to provide treatment options to more than one in three patients globally with breast cancer by 2030.
Breast cancer today: A growing global challenge
We’ve made great strides in breast cancer detection globally;1 however, breast cancer remains an urgent public health concern.2-4 Breast cancer is still the leading cause of female cancer deaths, with more than 665,000 deaths each year. 5,6
Breast cancer can begin in different areas of the breast, most commonly the ducts, lobules (the glands that produce and transport milk), or the connective tissue in between.1 There are many different types of breast cancers, including invasive and non-invasive forms,1 and it can be further classified based on the presence or absence of hormone receptors (estrogen or progesterone), HER2 expression status and whether they have a BRCA mutation.1,7 These classifications are critical for predicting disease behaviour and guiding treatment decisions.1
While most people are now diagnosed with breast cancer in its early stages, approximately one in three patients will go on to develop metastatic disease8 – cancer that has spread to distant parts of their body. This progression can happen quickly for some patients or gradually over time for others.8 Additionally, there are still patients who are diagnosed with metastatic disease at initial presentation – particularly in lower and middle-income countries and underserved patient populations in high-income countries. 9
Once a patient is diagnosed with metastatic disease, their five-year survival rate drops significantly.10 Nine out of 10 people diagnosed with early breast cancer will still be alive five years after diagnosis11 – this drops to around one in three once patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage.12
As the world’s population grows and ages, breast cancer cases and deaths are expected to increase dramatically — by 2040 there will be…
To tackle the growing burden of breast cancer, we must continue developing innovative medicines that address ongoing clinical needs, and we need to tackle the barriers to optimal care.
Our R&D approach in breast cancer
For over 40 years, we have contributed to advances in breast cancer care, and we continue to play a critical role in improving outcomes for people living with breast cancer. With the broadest portfolio of precision medicines in breast cancer approved and in development, we remain focused on meeting the needs of people living with breast cancer now and in the future.
With our expanded understanding of breast cancer biology, we now know more about the various factors driving the development and progression of breast cancer.1 This expanded knowledge has led to the discovery of novel therapeutic targets based upon individual biomarkers (key receptors or proteins).1 As our understanding of the different factors fuelling breast cancer grows, so will our ability to develop potential medicines for new disease subtypes.13
Our industry-leading breast cancer portfolio of approved assets and compounds in development build on our evolving understanding of breast cancer and leverage different mechanisms of action to address the heterogeneity of the disease.
We are leading the charge to challenge and redefine the clinical paradigm for how breast cancer is classified and treated – leveraging existing and new diagnostic tools – to transform standards of care across all subtypes and stages of disease.
Accelerating our vision to transform care through collaboration
As we push the boundaries of science to discover and develop medicines that improve patient outcomes, we must also work to expand awareness and support access to optimal breast cancer care. We know we can’t do this alone. We are actively collaborating with world-leading academics, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), other industry partners, healthcare professionals, patients and policymakers to identify the barriers that are keeping people with breast cancer from having access to the optimal standard of care. Together we are enacting strategies to remove these barriers for all patients throughout the entire diagnosis and treatment pathway.
Understanding breast cancer subtypes and biomarkers
While new approaches to classify and manage breast cancer bring numerous benefits to patients, these advancements often make it harder for patients to understand and take part in decisions about their care and treatment.
To support patients more effectively, we funded and delivered a global study, in collaboration with ABC Global Alliance, to identify the challenges people diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer face in learning about the subtype they have and associated biomarkers.
Bridging the gaps to improve breast cancer care
Despite breast cancer being the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide, most countries are still falling short of the World Health Organization’s Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) annual mortality reduction goal of 2.5% each year.14
Urgent policy changes are needed to improve outcomes for women with breast cancer and meet the GBCI goal. A new tool, the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index (BCCQI), developed by international experts including healthcare professionals, policymakers and patient advocates, offers aligned, actionable strategies to strengthen breast cancer care across the continuum – from diagnosis to survivorship. As a flexible framework, the BCCQI helps countries assess their current breast cancer policies, identify gaps, and develop tailored improvement plans, supporting locally relevant strategies, that advance more equitable care and outcomes worldwide.15
A companion Call to Action guides country stakeholders to set priorities based on the BCCQI framework, coordinate efforts, and build actionable roadmaps that translate into measurable improvements and high-quality care for all women.
Tackling barriers to optimal breast cancer care for underserved patient populations
One of our programmes, Powering Breast Cancer Progress, established in 2024, is a global grant initiative funded by AstraZeneca and which is supported by the Charities Aid Foundation. It aims to improve breast cancer care for underserved patient populations and patients living in areas of low socioeconomic status.
The Powering Breast Cancer Progress grant programme continues to focus on breast cancer patient navigation, a critical resource that has been shown to have a positive impact on individual patient care, broader healthcare system services, and can help to reduce inequities in breast cancer care.16
Other Oncology areas of focus
References
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2. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2020. CA Cancer J Clin. 2020;70:7-30. DOI:10.3322/caac.21590
3. Brawley OW, Berger MZ: Cancer and disparities in health: Perspectives on health statistics and research questions. Cancer 113:1744-1754, 2008. DOI:10.1002/cncr.23802
4. Byers T. Two decades of declining cancer mortality: Progress with disparity. Annu Rev Public Health. 2010;31:121–132. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.012809.103600
5. World Health Organization. Global cancer burden growing, amidst mounting need for services. Available at: https://www.who.int/news/item/01-02-2024-global-cancer-burden-growing--amidst-mounting-need-for-services. Accessed February 2026.
6. Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024; 1-35. DOI:10.3322/caac.21834
7. American Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Hormone Receptor Status. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/understanding-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis/breast-cancer-hormone-receptor-status.html. Accessed February 2026.
8. Redig AJ, McAllister SS. Breast cancer as a systemic disease: a view of metastasis. J Intern Med. 2013 Aug;274(2):113-26. DOI:10.1111/joim.12084.
9. Tfayli A, Temraz S, Abou Mrad R, Shamseddine A. Breast cancer in low- and middle-income countries: an emerging and challenging epidemic. J Oncol. 2010;2010:490631. Epub 2010 Dec 15. DOI:10.1155/2010/490631.
10. Wang R, Zhu Y, Liu X, Liao X, He J, Niu L. The Clinicopathological features and survival outcomes of patients with different metastatic sites in stage IV breast cancer. BMC Cancer. 2019 Nov 12;19(1):1091. DOI: 10.1186/s12885-019-6311-z.
11. Cancer Research UK. Survival for breast cancer. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/breast-cancer/survival. Accessed February 2026.
12. Cancer Research UK. Why is early cancer diagnosis important? Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/spot-cancer-early/why-is-early-diagnosis-important. Accessed February 2026.
13. Wang L, Zhang S and Wang X, 2021. The metabolic mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis. Frontiers in Oncology, 10, p.602416. DOI:10.3389/fonc.2020.602416
14. World Health Organization. Breast cancer. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-cancer#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the%20World%20Health,and%20comprehensive%20breast%20cancer%20management Accessed February 2026.
15. Cazap, E et al. Bridging gaps in breast cancer care: a Breast Cancer Care Quality Index to improve outcomes worldwide. ecancer Medical Science. 2025;19:1981. doi:10.3332/ecancer.2025.1981. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2025.1981 Accessed February 2026
16. Natale‐Pereira A, Enard KR, Nevarez L, Jones LA. The role of patient navigators in eliminating health disparities. Cancer. 2011 Aug 1;117(S15):3541-50. DOI:10.1002/cncr.26264
Veeva ID: Z4-78837
Date of preparation: March 2026