Adjuvant Chemotherapy Programs in Node-Negative Breast Cancer

  • P. Valagussa
  • R. Silvestrini
  • G. Bonadonna
Chapter

Abstract

Traditionally, women with node-negative breast cancer have been regarded as having a relatively favorable prognosis following locoregional therapy (surgery and/or radiotherapy) although for more than 10 years clinical investigators have stressed that the recurrence rate in the first decade after surgery was about 25% [16, 29]. More recent evaluations of surgical series have pointed out that a group of prognostic variables, such as negative estrogen receptors (ERs), poorly differentiated tumors, evidence of high growth rate, and large tumor size are individually associated with a greater risk of relapse in women with negative nodes [18]. Recent results from prospective randomized trials carried out in Europe and in the United States have indicated that adjuvant systemic therapy has improved treatment outcome, thus making multidisciplinary treatment for this patient subset an exciting and important therapeutic approach [3, 5]. This chapter will briefly outline treatment design and results of modern adjuvant trials for node-negative breast cancer.

Keywords

Breast Cancer Axillary Dissection Adjuvant Tamoxifen Locoregional Therapy Fine Needle Aspirate 
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin · Heidelberg 1991

Authors and Affiliations

  • P. Valagussa
    • 1
  • R. Silvestrini
    • 1
  • G. Bonadonna
    • 1
  1. 1.Istituto Nazionale TumoriMilanItaly

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