Breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer to affect women, with a recent estimate of lifetime risk being one in eight. The number of women found to have breast cancer in the UK has risen to 52,250 in 2011 with the highest rise being in the 50–69-years age group. This is probably attributable to several lifestyle factors such as diet, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise and late pregnancies. Because of earlier diagnosis and major treatment advances, survival rates have gradually improved over the last 20 years, with 80% of patients with early breast cancer now surviving 10 years after diagnosis. Recent advances in surgical management include the use of oncoplastic techniques for breast conservation and also advances in breast reconstruction following mastectomy. One current controversial area is the management of women with positive axillary nodes at diagnosis. The majority of patients with breast cancer will be offered adjuvant treatment such as radiotherapy, hormones, chemotherapy and biological agents, which aim to reduce local recurrence and improve survival. Novel developments include the use of biological markers to predict outcome and response to chemotherapy. This overview discusses the up-to-date management of breast cancer and recent developments in this field.