Which statement about lifetime breast cancer risk is correct?

Which statement about lifetime breast cancer risk is correct?

• A. 1 in 8
• B. 1 in 50
• C. 1 in 100
• D. 1 in 4

Answer: (A)

Lifetime risk is the chance a person will develop breast cancer over the course of their life. For women in the general population, this risk is about 12–13%, which is roughly one in eight. That makes the statement about one in eight the best reflection of average, population-level risk, and it’s the figure commonly used in guidelines and counseling. The other options imply much lower or much higher overall risk than what is typical for the average woman. A risk of about 2% (one in fifty) or about 1% (one in a hundred) does not match the commonly cited population estimate. A risk of about 25% (one in four) would overstate risk for the general population, though individual risk can be higher in specific high-risk groups, such as certain genetic mutation carriers.

Lifetime risk is the chance a person will develop breast cancer over the course of their life. For women in the general population, this risk is about 12–13%, which is roughly one in eight. That makes the statement about one in eight the best reflection of average, population-level risk, and it’s the figure commonly used in guidelines and counseling.

The other options imply much lower or much higher overall risk than what is typical for the average woman. A risk of about 2% (one in fifty) or about 1% (one in a hundred) does not match the commonly cited population estimate. A risk of about 25% (one in four) would overstate risk for the general population, though individual risk can be higher in specific high-risk groups, such as certain genetic mutation carriers.