title: Clinical trials and primary breast cancer. The therapeutic implications.
abstract: The therapeutic cure of breast cancer involves local and metastatic control. In the past they have been conceptually separated with local control being considered the focus for primary therapy and metastatic control an issue only at the time of relapse. With new understanding of tumor cell biology and the natural history of breast cancer, it has been recognized that the two issues cannot be easily separated. The emotionalism that has accompanied breast cancer research, and its results, both within the oncologic community, and in the public mind, have made the design, interpretation, and analysis of breast cancer trials a difficult area. The author reviews the existing clinical trial literature base in primary therapy and attempts to develop its therapeutic implications.
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008408:Mastectomy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents