Breast Cancer Care: Developments in 1998

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, although death rates in the United States and some other countries are beginning to fall. METHODS: Several sources of information in 1998, including publications and presentations at the 1998 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, are pertinent to contemporary breast cancer care. RESULTS: It is now possible to prescribe hormonal therapy that will reduce the incidence of breast cancer. Methods are available to reduce the morbidity from axillary node dissection, and improvements in adjuvant therapy and management of metastatic breast cancer are now at hand. CONCLUSIONS: The information presented provides a broad-based platform for new standards of care for breast cancer that will serve as a sound base for further progress in this important disease.