**Introduction**

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Carcinogenesis and Clinical**

**Introductory Chapter: Carcinogenesis and Clinical** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.79622

Breast cancer ranks fifth in cancer-related deaths among women. Therefore, the selection of systemic and local treatments influences the prognosis. They show different signal pathway and genetic differentiation. Besides ER, PR, and HER-2 receptor levels used in practice, cytokeratin, EGFR, germ line mutations, and mesenchymal markers currently bring many treatment approaches into question. This shows the presence of factors that have not yet been fully understood. Hence, as new pathways, mutations, and different chemotherapeutic agents gain currency in the ongoing follow-up of each patient, clinicians are alienated from the standard treatment approach. In this chapter, local treatment options, early and advanced breast cancer treatments, drug resistance factors, alternative treatments, and palliative care have been

Breast cancer has been described in a sequential algorithm based on progressive disease course, beginning from neoadjuvant treatments. Approach to breast cancer as a systemic disease starting from the diagnosis phase extends the life span of the patients as well as increases the success rate of local treatments such as surgery and radiotherapy and decreases the toxicity. Although neoadjuvant treatments have no effect on local control, they cause a decrease in radiotherapy-administered volumes. The eradication of micrometastases along with pCR has

Nowadays, classical mastectomy is alienated by the options of oncoplastic surgery. The side effects of silicone implants and expanders used, mesh and autologous tissue reconstructions

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

**1. General overview on breast cancer treatments**

Nilufer BulutAdditional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.79622

**Reflections**

**Reflections**

Nilufer Bulut

addressed.

**1.1. Local and systemic therapies**

a prognostic importance.

have been enriched with patient images.

#### **Introductory Chapter: Carcinogenesis and Clinical Reflections Introductory Chapter: Carcinogenesis and Clinical Reflections**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.79622
