[Breast neoplasms: a 1980 dilemma]

For many reasons, breast cancer is still the most controversial topic in oncology. Questions raised many years ago in relation to diagnosis and treatment have not yet been answered. Clinical classification, such as the TNM system, is open to many pitfalls and the degree of error in axillary staging is still high, even in expert hands. The situation with regard to management is similar. The types of treatment are numerous and controversial, so that interpretations of results is unreliable. The fundamental questions will be answered only by clinical trials.