Ambitions and reality in surgical treatment of breast cancer

This is a brief comment on results in the common surgical treatment of breast cancer. Based on guiding-lines given by the surgical congress 1985 the decentralized treatment routine as it is common today has been analysed and its results have been applied to our regional structures. Under the premises of standardized diagnosis as well as surgical and postoperative treatment the decentralized treatment of breast cancer is still supported and considered useful. Main critical point in the whole therapy concept is the postoperative treatment, especially the adjuvant therapy. Looking for future solutions it seems to be more effective to reduce the amount of surgical facilities for the benefit of profiling the remaining ones. This could be applicable for the treatment of other diseases as well. The improvements that would result from this conceptional concentration would be profitable as well for the patients as for the surgeons.