History and overview of comprehensive interdisciplinary breast centers.

The comprehensive interdisciplinary breast center represents a model for delivering breast care in an efficient and cost-effective manner. It is a better way of caring for women with breast disease and allows for an interdisciplinary treatment by various specialists working and communicating with each other. The center allows for incorporation of new programs and innovations of care. As breast cancer care undergoes further changes, the comprehensive breast center facilitates progress and serves as a model for other disease-specific interdisciplinary programs. The evolution of breast centers and types of models are reviewed, and key factors of success are outlined in this article.