Progress in the treatment of breast cancer—Introduction

Conclusions

It is clear that unless the surgeon is specially committed to a study of breast cancer, he or she no longer can hope to have the necessary knowledge of the wide variety of techniques now required for the investigation and treatment of this disease. Since women with breast tumors often seek the advice of the surgeon as a first step, it is essential that it be realized that surgery is only part of the management of the patient. Nevertheless, the surgeon must be fully aware of the principles underlying the investigation and planned therapy of women with malignancies of the breast. In this review we have attempted to present a summary of new developments and likely trends for the future.