Treatment approaches for metastatic breast cancer in Turkey

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women around the world (1). Its incidence increases by age. Although this increase continues in the postmenopausal period, its rate slows down. Approximately 183,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the USA and 41,000 women die because of breast cancer annually (2). There is a great deal of evidence indicating hormonal impact on breast cancer etiology (3). About 5-10% of all breast cancer cases have a hereditary nature (4). Due to the increasing number of patients diagnosed at earlier stages, and higher cure rates in those patients treated with appropriate local therapies, mortality rates are consequently decreasing in recent years in developed countries such as the USA, the UK and Sweden (2). However, many patients in this group have micro-metastases, which cannot be clinically detected. Patients who do not receive systemic therapy are more likely to develop distant metastases (5).