Hong Kong reports 84% five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients
Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection says breast cancer has an 84% five-year relative survival rate. The government promotes risk-based screening and healthy lifestyles during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A pilot screening programme for high-risk women has detected early-stage cancers.
Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection director Dr Leung-kin Tsui said on 6 October that the government is strongly committed to cancer prevention and control, including developing a breast cancer risk assessment tool for local Chinese women and launching a risk-based screening programme. He noted that the vast majority of breast cancer cases detected through government-funded screening are early-stage cancers, and thanks to technological advances and improved treatment, the cure rate for breast cancer continues to rise.
Data show that over the past decade, the overall five-year relative survival rate for breast cancer patients in Hong Kong reached 84 per cent. For stage 1 and stage 2 cancers, the rate was as high as 99.3 per cent and 94.6 per cent respectively, placing Hong Kong among the world’s best performers. This demonstrates that risk-based screening can detect and treat breast cancer early, improving patients’ chances of recovery.
Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in Hong Kong and the third leading cause of cancer death among women. In 2023, there were 5,585 new cases of invasive breast cancer, accounting for 28.9 per cent of all new female cancer cases. In 2024, breast cancer caused 848 deaths among women, representing 13.1 per cent of all female cancer deaths.
Since June 2025, the government has been running a second-phase pilot breast cancer screening programme for high-risk Hong Kong female residents aged 35 to 74. Eligible women, including those with genetic mutations or a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer, can receive subsidised annual mammograms. The programme operates through a public-private partnership with three non-governmental organisations. As of end-June 2026, about 1,360 high-risk women had received mammograms, with more than 70 referred to specialists for abnormal results. Of those, 17 were diagnosed with breast cancer, all at stage 1 or earlier.
For women at general or moderate risk, the Primary Care Department of the Health Bureau has set up three ‘Joyful Breast’ stations in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories since June 2025. These stations work with 18 district health centres to provide preventive and personalised women’s health services, including breast cancer risk assessment and screening. By end-June 2026, the stations had served more than 33,600 visits. Since 5 October, elderly health centres have been integrated into the network, extending services to women aged 65 and above.
Dr Tsui urged the public to adopt healthy lifestyles—avoiding tobacco and alcohol, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight—as primary prevention. He also encouraged women to familiarise themselves with the normal look and feel of their breasts and to seek medical advice if they notice any abnormalities. The government has commissioned the University of Hong Kong to develop an online breast cancer risk assessment tool for Chinese women aged 44 to 69, which takes about three minutes to complete.