Breast cancer continues to increase the number of women affected year after year. The year 2024 also recorded a rise in new cases and more hospitalizations.

The data was made public by the newly appointed head of the Institute of Public Health (ISHP), Dorina Toçi, on the occasion of Pink October, the month of breast cancer awareness. She noted that despite the rising number of patients, the good news is that there has been no increase among younger age groups.

“In 2024, based on the National Cancer Registry, 805 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women. Incidence has been rising, with the most at-risk age group being 50–70 years,” Toçi said.

She also underlined that breast cancer does not spare men:

“There were 10 cases of breast cancer in men during 2024. Of course, it affects men as well, though much more rarely than women,” she stressed.

Health specialists emphasize the importance of early detection as the key to improving survival rates. Throughout the past year, 25,000 women across the country underwent mammography screenings, with 50 of them discovering they had breast cancer.

Doctors are urging women to perform regular self-examinations, as well as periodic ultrasounds and mammograms after the age of 50.