Surgery of breast cancer

Near the beginning of this century, the aggressive surgical procedure of radical mastectomy to treat breast cancer was proposed by William S. Halsted. Today, the patient with newly diagnosed breast cancer and her surgeon have significantly more varied treatment options. Radical surgical resection has been supplanted by breast conservation therapy. Biopsy methods and the actual surgical techniques continue to be refined. Further developments have emerged in the debates over the efficacy of axillary dissection and sentinel lymph node biopsy. Diverse differences are seen in breast cancer of younger patients due to some fundamental distinctions in their disease. As we approach the next millenium it is clear that breast cancer is curable in a large percentage of women. While attention is turning to the investigation of the biologic and genetic factors involved with this disease, surgical regimens maintain a preeminent role in the overall quest for cure.