British breast cancer rate four times higher than East Africa

BREAST cancer rates are four times higher in Britain than in Eastern Africa, new figures show.

Some 87.9 per 100,000 British women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, compared to just 19.3 women per 100,000 in Eastern Africa.

The statistics come from the World Health Organisation’s global database of disease prevalence. Eastern Africa includes Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) said some of the difference is because British doctors are better at diagnosing and recording cases.

However, it warned that British lifestyles – including a high incidence of obesity, too much drinking and a lack of exercise – were contributing to high rates.

Research has shown that four out of 10 cases in British women could be prevented if they kept to a healthy weight, drank less and were more active.