Current status and advances in management of early breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer. Worldwide, more than a million women are diagnosed every year. However despite this increase, the mortality rate is declining. This is due to combination of factors including early diagnosis and effective treatment. This manuscript which is presented in two sections outlines the current status in management of early breast cancer. Section 1 focuses on the advances in diagnosis and surgical treatment of breast cancer and give an overview of the histopathological aspects. The focus of section 2 is on advances on adjuvant treatment of breast cancer including radiotherapy, chemotherapy and endocrine treatment. Copyright 2010 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.