The burden of diagnosed HER2+/HR+ breast cancer is expected to increase at an annual growth rate (AGR) of 1.70% from around 100,000 cases in 2020 to 114,000 cases in 2030 in the eight major markets (8MM*), according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Epidemiology Forecast to 2030’, reveals that the increase is partly attributed to the moderately rising trend in incidence in the 8MM, combined with underlying demographic changes in the respective markets.

HER2-positive breast cancer consists of HER2+/HR+ and HER2+/HR- subtypes. In the 8MM, HER2+/HR+ was the most common subtype of HER2-positive breast cancer, followed by HER2+/HR- breast cancer.

Bishal Bhandari, PhD, Senior Epidemiologist at GlobalData, comments: “Although HER2+/HR+ was the most common type, GlobalData’s research shows that cases of HER2+/HR- breast cancer are also growing steadily in the 8MM. This is important as HER2-positive cancer overall is more aggressive than HER2-negative cancer.”

In the 8MM, according to GlobalData epidemiologists, the majority of diagnosed incident cases of HER2-positive cases were in stage I–III, and fewer than 10% of cases were in stage IV in 2020.

Bhandari adds: “It is promising development that the majority of breast cancer cases are now diagnosed at earlier stages, which improves breast cancer survival and response to treatment. However, due to a longer life expectancy in breast cancer patients, the overall number of individuals with breast cancer will continue to increase over time.”

*8MM: The US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan, and urban China