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Surgical Treatment of the Primary Tumor in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer (Stage IV Disease)

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Abstract

The widespread uptake of breast cancer screening, together with heightened population awareness, means that most breast cancers in the Western world are detected at an early stage. Recent tumor registry studies from the United States and Europe have shown that metastatic breast cancer (BC) accounts for 4–5% of all cases [1–3]. However, in developing nations, the proportion of patients with metastatic BC at diagnosis is greater, ranging from 10% in Malaysia [4] to 24% in Nepal [5] and 44% in Nigerian women [6]. In early breast cancer, high-quality evidence from randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses is available to support the majority of treatments we perform. In comparison, there is a lack of level I evidence and accepted standard-of-care therapies available for patients with metastatic BC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Breast Surgery, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Mattia Intra

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  1. Mattia Intra
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Correspondence to Mattia Intra .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. European Institutee of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Umberto Veronesi

  2. European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Aron Goldhirsch

  3. European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Paolo Veronesi

  4. San Raffaele University and Research Hospital, Milano, Italy

    Oreste Davide Gentilini

  5. European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Maria Cristina Leonardi

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Intra, M. (2017). Surgical Treatment of the Primary Tumor in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer (Stage IV Disease). In: Veronesi, U., Goldhirsch, A., Veronesi, P., Gentilini, O., Leonardi, M. (eds) Breast Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48848-6_29

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