Nine months versus 12 months of adjuvant trastuzumab for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer is considered a major public health problem for women throughout the world. In the United States, breast cancer is still the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women and the 2nd most frequent cause of cancer mortality [1]. Worldwide, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality among females, accounting for 23% of total cancer cases and 14% of cancer deaths, however, there is a 5-fold variation in incidence between high-incidence areas such as the United States and Western Europe, and low incidence areas such as Africa and Asia [1]. In Egypt, breast cancer is estimated to be the most common cancer among females accounting for 37.7% in 2008. It is also the leading cause of cancer related mortality accounting for 29.1% of their total. The incidence to mortality ratio is poor (1.9:1). These estimates are confirmed in many regional Egyptian cancer registries as well as in hospital-based frequencies [2-4]. Women presenting with abnormal imaging findings alone should undergo biopsy guided by mammography (stereotactic biopsy or wire localization breast biopsy), ultrasound, or breast magnetic resonance imaging. Women presenting with a breast mass should undergo fine needle aspiration or core needle biopsy. Newly diagnosed breast cancer cases should be tested for by estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression and for Original Article Korean Journal of Clinical Oncology 2018;14:108-115 https://doi.org/10.14216/kjco.18019 pISSN 1738-8082 ∙ eISSN 2288-4084