Objective: Cancer is one of the reasons for the increased burden of disease in the coming decades. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology, incidence and mortality of breast cancer and its relationship with the Human Development Index (HDI).

Materials and Methods: Data about the incidence and mortality rate of breast cancer for the year 2018 was obtained from the Global Cancer Project for 185 countries. To analyze data, correlation test and regression tests were used to evaluate the correlation between the incidence and mortality with HDI. The statistical analysis was carried out by Stata-14 and the significance level was estimated at the level of 0.05.

Results: According to cancer registry data in 2018, the highest incidence of breast cancer in the world was observed in the countries of Belgium (11.23 per 100,000) and Luxembourg (109.3 per 100,000), and the highest mortality rate for Fiji (36.9 per 100,000) and Barbados (33.1 per 100,000). Our study showed a positive and significant correlation between incidence (r = 0.724, p <0.0001) and HDI index. However, there was a negative correlation between breast mortality (r = -0.08, p > 0.05) and HDI. Linear regression showed that increasing MYS (B = 2.02, p <0.05) increased the incidence and increase of EYS (B = -1.1, p <0.05) and significantly decreased mortality.

Conclusions: The incidence of breast cancer in developed countries and its death in less developed countries is high. Increasing the HDI, along with the increased screening program in these countries, can help to identify and reduce the mortality of this disease. Increasing the level of education and awareness of women is also one of the health priorities in this area that can be effective in reducing mortality in patient.