Surgery for breast cancer

Despite exciting advances in drug treatment, surgery remains the mainstay of breast cancer treatment. Diagnostic techniques have improved so that patients have a diagnosis of cancer before surgery is undertaken, so that they are able to discuss it in an informed manner. There has been an increasing trend towards breast conservation treatment as patients are diagnosed with early breast cancers. Mastectomy, however, is still needed in a number of cases. There have recently been significant developments in the assessment of the axilla with the development of the sentinel node technique. This is a useful diagnostic procedure to avoid the side effects of axillary clearance, but axillary node clearance is still the best treatment for pathological lymph nodes.