Future Perspective
A common theme highlighted by recent turning points in this article, is the move towards individualized patient specific treatment plans, using improving techniques in tumor biology and detection, to determine unique therapy regimens for each patient (Table 2).
There is a need for more accurate screening and therefore, detection of breast cancer and potential lymph node metastases, which will undoubtedly include MRI. This will help to determine the extent of initial therapy including surgery for the patient but with increasing diagnostic rates for less clinically significant pathology, brings the question of who should be treated.
Further research into agents targeting different aspects of the tumor cell cycle will revolutionize adjuvant treatments and therefore, increase patient survival further. Less toxic and more efficacious agents mean that patient groups who would previously not be considered for more radical treatment options, for example, the elderly, may now be considered appropriate candidates.