Comparison of 4th ESO-ESMO international consensus guidelines for advance breast cancer and Chinese anti-cancer association committee of Breast Cancer Society guideline.

The primary aim of the international advance breast cancer (ABC) guidelines are to guide treatment decisions in many different healthcare settings, but need adaptations due to different access to care. These guidelines are based on the most up-to-date evidence. However, Chinese experts have a different national condition and policies to face. The Chinese Anti-Cancer Association Committee of Breast Cancer Society guideline (CBCS guideline) is to guide treatments and to reflect unmet needs of Chinese breast cancer patients. Although, most of the recommendations in the two guidelines are the same, some of them are different. In this article, with regard to country-specific peculiarities, a working group of Chinese breast cancer experts compare the similarities and differences between the ABC guideline and CBCS guideline and commented on the voting results of the ABC panelists. We also discuss why these differences exist, such as lack of access, different tumor biology and epidemiology, and even different culture. The money which patients have to pay out of pocket for their medical cost and the availability of drugs lie at the heart of the issues of guideline differences.