Where this breast cancer information comes from

All our information is checked by cancer specialists and surgeons who specialise in treating cancer. The names of our specialist reviewers are at the end of this list. We also try to find patients to review all our sections. If you have had breast cancer, live in the UK, and would like to become a patient reviewer, you can write to us by clicking on contact us.

Cancer Research UK
CancerStats Series

US National Cancer Institute
Information on the treatment of breast cancer
http://www.cancer.gov/cancer_information/cancer_type/breast

NHS Breast Screening Programme
Information about breast screening and treatment for DCIS found by breast screening
http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/breastscreen

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Guidelines 
www.nice.org.uk

• Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment – February 2009
• Advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment – February 2009
• Clinical guidelines for the classification and care of women at familial risk of breast cancer – October 2006
• Service guidance on supportive and palliative care – March 2004
• Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer – June 2005

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Appraisals
www.nice.org.uk

• Fulvestrant for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer – December 2011
• Docetaxel for the adjuvant treatment of early, node positive breast cancer – January 2011
• Endoscopic mastectomy and endoscopic wide local excision for breast cancer – April 2009
• Ex vivo hepatic resection and reimplantation for liver cancer – April 2009
• Image guided radiofrequency excision biopsy of breast lesions – July 2009
• Brachytherapy as the sole method of adjuvant radiotherapy for breast cancer after local excision – July 2008
• Gemcitabine for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer - January 2007
• Paclitaxel for the adjuvant treatment of early, node positive breast cancer – September 2006
• Hormone therapies for the adjuvant treatment of early oestrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer – November 2006
• Trastuzumab for the adjuvant treatment of early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer – August 2006
• Endoscopic axillary lymph node retrieval for breast cancer – July 2005
• Interstitial laser therapy for breast cancer – September 2004
• The clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of trastuzumab for breast cancer – March 2002

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
www.sign.ac.uk
Management of breast cancer in women – December 2005, updated 2006

Scottish Medicines Consortium 
www.scottishmedicines.org.uk

• Statement on use of Herceptin in early breast cancer – June 2006
• Anastrozole for postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor positive early invasive breast cancer – 2004
• Early breast cancer in hormone receptor positive postmenopausal women who have received 2 to 3 years of adjuvant tamoxifen – 2006
• Adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor positive early invasive breast cancer – 2005
• Vinorelbine for advanced breast cancer – 2007
• Herceptin for metastatic breast cancer – 2007
• Herceptin for HER2 positive early breast cancer – 2007
• Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin for metastatic breast cancer – 2006
• Letrozole for adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive invasive early breast cancer – 2006
• Letrozole for invasive early breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have already received standard tamoxifen therapy – 2005
• Fulvestrant for metastatic breast cancer – 2004
• Gemcitabine for women with metastatic breast cancer who have relapsed following adjuvant/neoadjuvant chemotherapy – 2006
• Gemcitabine in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer – 2005
• Exemestane for postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor positive invasive early breast cancer, following 2 – 3 years of initial adjuvant tamoxifen therapy
• Decetaxel for operable, node positive breast cancer – 2006
• Bevacizumab for first line treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer – 2006
• Capecitabine for metastatic breast cancer – 2003

Principles and practice of oncology (8th edition)
De Vita, V.T., Hellman, S. and Rosenberg S.A.
Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2008

National Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction Audit. 2011, The NHS Information Centre

Comparative Effectiveness of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Management and the Roles of Margins and Surgeons. Dick et al. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2011: Vol. 103, Issue 2.

Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast: a systematic review of incidence, treatment, and outcomes. Virnig et al.  Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2010: Vol. 102, Issue 3.

Overcoming barriers. NHS Breast Screening Programme Annual Review. NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, 2010.

Overview of the Randomized Trials of Radiotherapy in Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) of the Breast. Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group (EBCTCG), 09 June 2010

Pathologic and biologic response to preoperative endocrine therapy in patients with ER-positive ductal carcinoma in situ. Chen Y. BMC Cancer, Aug 2009 9:285

Local Excision Alone Without Irradiation for Ductal Carcinoma In Situ of the Breast: A trial of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Hughes et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2009 Vol 29, No 32.

Early breast cancer. Benson et al. The Lancet 2009; 373: 1463-79

Uncertainties in the management of screen-detected ductal carcinoma in situ. National Health Service Breast Screening Programme, 2008. 

Survival of invasive breast cancer according to the Nottingham Prognostic Index in cases diagnosed in 1990 to 1999. R W Blamey et al, European Journal of Cancer 43 (2007) 1548-1555.

Hormonal therapy for menopause and breast-cancer risk by histological type: a cohort study and meta-analysis.
Reeves G, Beral V, Green J, Gathani T, Bull D, for the Million Women Study Collaborators. Lancet Oncology 2006;7:910-918

Hormone replacement therapy and false positive recall in the Million Women Study: patterns of use, hormonal constituents and consistency of effect. Banks E, Reeves G, Beral V, Bull D, Crossley B, Simmonds M, Hilton E, Bailey S, Barret N, Briers P, English R, Jackson A, Kutt E, Lavelle J, Rockall L, Wallis MG, Wilson M, Patnick J. Breast Cancer Research 2006;8:R8

Menopausal hormone therapy in patients with breast cancer. Batur et al. 2006 Jan 20;53(2):123-32.

Bisphosphonates for breast cancer. (Cochrane Review). Pavlakis N, Schmidt RL, Stockler M. . In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2005. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Effects of radiotherapy and of differences in the extent of surgery for early breast cancer on local recurrence and on 15 year survival: an overview of the randomised trials. (Cochrane Review). The Lancet 2005; 366: 2087-2106). In the Cochrane Library.

Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trials. Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group. (Cochrane Review). The Lancet 2005; 365: 1687-171). In the Cochrane Library.

Taxane containing regimens for metastatic breast cancer. Ghersi D, Wilcken N, Simes J, Donoghue E. (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2005.

Selection of adjuvant chemotherapy for treatment of node-positive breast cancer. Trudeau et al. Lancet Oncology 2005. Nov;6 (11): 886-98.

Review of radiation risk in breast screening. Joint report: NHS Breast Cancer Screening Programme, National Radiological Protection Board and National Coordinating Group for Physics Quality Assurance. NHSBCSP, Feb 2003

Chemotherapy alone versus endocrine therapy alone for metastatic breast cancer. (Cochrane Review). Wilcken N, Hornbuckle J, Ghersi D.  In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2003. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Professor Stephen Duffy (Professor of cancer screening)
Mr Martin Lee, MBChB, MA, MSc, FRCS (Consultant surgeon)
Mr Guy Sterne, MD, FRCS (Plastic) (Consultant plastic surgeon)
Dr A Stevens, MBBS FRCP FRCR (Consultant cancer specialist)

Dee McLean – MeDee Art, Medical Illustration