[Breast cancer]

Some problems concerning treatment for breast cancer were reviewed including primary operative procedures, adjuvant treatment or systemic treatment for advanced breast cancer. More conservative operations for early breast cancer have been established in Western countries. However, there is a need for comparative studies to elucidate their values as a standard therapy for early breast cancer in Japan. Recent results of an overview of the effects of adjuvant tamoxifen or cytotoxic chemotherapy on mortality were discussed. Various trials of systemic treatment including chemotherapy or chemo-endocrine therapy for advanced breast cancer have failed to show definitive effects to prolong survival. More individualized treatment schedules must be developed for these patients.