title: Systemic treatments for women with breast cancer: outcome with relation to screening for the disease.
abstract: Early detection and proper care of breast cancer are currently the best available approaches to the treatment of patients with the disease. In countries with a breast cancer screening programme, there has been a demonstrated reduction in breast cancer-related mortality. Such reduction has also been observed in Switzerland, a country in which no national programme of screening is available. Although there is no doubt that early diagnosis might have had a major role in reducing breast cancer mortality the magnitude of this effect is unknown. Research with tailored approaches on alternative imaging for early detection of breast cancer in high-risk women and on treatments offered according to proper criteria of responsiveness to therapies is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy. agoldhirsch@sakk.ch
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goldhirsch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colleoni
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Domenighetti
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Gelber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology