Alterations in age distribution of breast cancer patients over the last 20 years

Between 1963 and 1983, 2,355 breast cancer patients were treated at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Erlangen, Bavaria, West-Germany. In 1966, 1967 and 1968 we treated a total of 166 women with beast cancer. The age distribution graph shows a height in the 55 till 59 year old and in the 65 till 69 year old patient populations respectively. Although in a different magnitude, we show for the completeness the age distribution of the West German female population as well as the 1,405 women screened clinically and mammographically over this period of time. Ten years later, so between 1976 and 1978 a peak in the number of breast cancer patients is found in the 40 till 44 year old group, we see a plateau in the 50 till 60 year old and a peak in the 65 till 69 year old respectively. The total number of women investigated over this period of time was 11,197. A total number of 517 neoplasms of the breast were diagnosed