Patient Pathway for Breast Cancer: Turning Points, Aspirations
Although the number of breast cancer cases diagnosed has increased in recent years, clinical outcomes, including survival, have improved. This is due to a number of advances in the whole patient pathway. Population screening benefit has been established and national programs have been successfully implemented, for example, in the UK. The concept of screening has been extended to women at risk, for example, due to family history or specific pathologies. Concerns regarding over diagnosis and treatment remain. Improvement in imaging techniques has improved detection rates. Oncoplastic surgery has become a field in its own right, aiming to achieve better aesthetic outcome without compromising oncological safety. Developed therapeutic options include chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and radiotherapy, as well as new agents directed against targets within the cell cycle. Prognosis is more reliably evaluated using new tools, including gene assays, in addition to conventional factors such as tumor grade and lymph node status. These tools can provide prognostic information and predict benefit of therapies.
Conclusion
Although the number of breast cancer cases diagnosed has increased in recent years, clinical outcomes, including survival, have improved. This is due to a number of advances in the whole patient pathway. Population screening benefit has been established and national programs have been successfully implemented, for example, in the UK. The concept of screening has been extended to women at risk, for example, due to family history or specific pathologies. Concerns regarding over diagnosis and treatment remain. Improvement in imaging techniques has improved detection rates. Oncoplastic surgery has become a field in its own right, aiming to achieve better aesthetic outcome without compromising oncological safety. Developed therapeutic options include chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and radiotherapy, as well as new agents directed against targets within the cell cycle. Prognosis is more reliably evaluated using new tools, including gene assays, in addition to conventional factors such as tumor grade and lymph node status. These tools can provide prognostic information and predict benefit of therapies.
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