MULTIDISCIPLINARY CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER - 06/09/11

In 1999, approximately 180,000 new cases of breast cancer will occur in the United States.<sup>65Landis S.H., Taylor M., Bolden S., et al. Cancer statistics, 1999 Ca Cancer J Clin 1999 ;  49 : 8-31 [cross-ref]

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> Although mortality rates decreased an average of 1.7% per year from 1990 to 1995, the 45,000 breast cancer deaths in 1999 represent 16% of deaths caused by cancer in women. Approximately 85% to 90% of women with newly diagnosed breast cancer have disease that is clinically limited to the breast or regional nodes. An increasing number of these women with early-stage breast cancer are being evaluated in comprehensive breast-cancer clinics staffed by breast surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, plastic surgeons, and social workers. The treatment of breast cancer lends itself to a multidisciplinary approach because optimal care is most frequently realized through multimodality therapy aimed at maximizing the likelihood of long-term survival while permitting a satisfactory cosmetic result.

Advances in surgical techniques, radiation therapy, and systemic therapies hold promise for even better outcomes. In this article, the approach of breast surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, and plastic surgeons at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts, is described. General guidelines for patient care are presented, but it is the continual communication between disciplines that allows for individualized care.