[Progress in breast cancer treatment over a quarter of a century]

The treatment of breast cancer has changed greatly over the last 25 years in Japan. The use of Halsted's surgical procedure has been reduced in breast conserving treatment, and even the ommision of axillary dissection has been argued recently. On the other hand, endocrine therapy has progressed remarkably with acceptance of tamoxifen in the clinic. Approval of LH-RH analogs and aromatase inhibitors has brought a new era in breast cancer treatment. The introduction of adriamycin, a powerful anticancer drug brought about a rapid increase in response rate and the development of oral type 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) derivatives made new treatments possible. S-1 and capecitabine, newly licensed 5-FU derivatives developed in Japan, have attracted notice worldwide. In 1992 the Japan Breast Cancer Society was founded and the level of breast cancer research in Japan has improved remarkably. Treatment results are now camparable to those of western countries.