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Breast cancer, due to its high incidence, is one of the best known and most well-studied forms of cancer. A disease with a long history, with the first references to it in Egyptian papyri of 1600 BC and surgical treatment for centuries being the only attempt to treat it.

Today, breast cancer is no longer treated as a single disease, but as a spectrum of different biological entities, which allows for personalized and more effective treatment of patients.

Early detection remains the most important factor in improving prognosis. The establishment of mass population screening programs with mammography diagnoses the disease at an early stage and has contributed significantly to reducing mortality. Modern technology, using digital mammography, tomosynthesis (3D mammography), contrast-enhanced mammography and magnetic resonance imaging, allows the detection of smaller lesions with greater accuracy, even in women with dense breasts.

The ability to detect mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, as well as in other genes associated with the risk of developing breast cancer, offers new possibilities for the prevention of high-risk women.

Understanding the biology of breast cancer has radically changed the view of the disease.

The recognition of different types and subtypes has led to the development of targeted therapies that offer greater efficacy and fewer side effects.

The study of the tumor at the molecular level (gene expression, prognostic signature) now allows for the prediction, with greater accuracy, of the probability of recurrence and the necessity or not of toxic treatments. This deeper understanding of the biological behavior of the disease is a foundation for the precision medicine applied today.

The surgical approach to breast cancer has evolved from the amputations of past decades to a “conservative surgery” that combines oncological safety with the preservation of the normal appearance, contributing decisively to the improvement of the quality of life of patients.

In the field of systemic therapy, new drugs have been and are being added, as a result of a deeper understanding of the biological background of the disease: new hormone therapy options, new chemotherapy regimens that are more effective and better tolerated, immunotherapy, monoclonal antibodies, conjugated anticancer drugs. The treatment of the disease has become more effective even in its advanced stages.

Radiotherapy, as an adjuvant local treatment, has also developed impressively. Modern techniques ensure maximum therapeutic benefit with fewer complications and with shorter and better tolerated regimens.

According to modern scientific data, breast cancer is a multifactorial and complex disease. It extends to a wide range of different clinical entities that may require a different, case-by-case, therapeutic approach.

The treatment of breast cancer today goes beyond the limits of “one attending physician”. It requires deep knowledge, specialization and close collaboration of many specialties: breast surgeons, oncologists, radiation therapists, pathologists, radiologists, plastic surgeons, geneticists and others.

Modern interdisciplinary oncology centers constitute the most effective model of care, as they ensure a coordinated and personalized therapeutic strategy. Group decision-making through oncology councils allows the selection of the optimal treatment for each patient, based on the biological characteristics of the disease and their personal needs. Numerous studies have shown that patients treated in such centers have better survival, fewer complications and a higher quality of life.

Breast cancer, although it continues to be a challenge for the medical community, should no longer be synonymous with fear. The combined power of science, technology and interdisciplinary collaboration has transformed an “old threat” into a manageable and, in the majority of cases, “curable condition.”