[Breast cancer: towards an evolution of minimalist locoregional therapy]

Breast cancer remains by far the most frequent cancer in women, for that matter it is the most frequent cancer in Belgium affecting both men and women. At the moment, more than 9000 cases are detected annually. The development of screening allows us, fortunately, to detect lesions and stages earlier, in that way locoregional treatmenthas considerably evolved. Since the seventies, radical mastectomy, which consists of the removal ofthe mammary gland, the axillary glands (lymph nodes) and sometimes the pectoral muscle, has been progressively replaced by conservatory treatment. This consists of a wide excision of the tumour with a safety resection margin, followed by a complete removal of the axillary glands (lymph nodes) then followed by a course of external radiotherapy testing treated six weeks daily on a five days week basis. During the nineties, in cases with certain precise indications, the complete axillary gland removal has been replaced by the removal of the first gland chain (lymph node chain) called "sentinel nodes". This technique avoids all morbidity associated to the complete lymph node removal. Finally, very recently, the classic external radiotherapy has been replaced by partial radiotherapy delivered exclusively in a few minutes during the surgical operation. Therefore, we can offer patients with early stage lesions a locoregional treatment carried out in one to two hours with an in-stay hospitalisation of two nights. This new technique manifestly offers a better locoregional control of the illness and very likely enhances (improves) their chances of recovery.