Abstract
The number of breast cancer in Japan has increased rapidly. Also, the number of cases of the early breast cancer detected by mass screening or health examination have increased. For the diag-nosis of early breast cancer, physical examination, mammography, ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration cytology are used routinely with the combination of these modalities. The current imaging diagnosis to chniques are effective for the detection and diagnosis of nonpalpable breast cancer. In Japan Surgical procedures for breast cancer have changed markedly during the recent 15 years and the modified radical mastectomy has been regarded as the standard operation at the present time. According to the concept that breast cancer is systemic disease with micrometastasis and the emphasis on the postoperative quality of life of the patients, breast-conserving surgery has been performed for 29% of the patients in Japan, 1997. From the psychological and cosmetic point of view, immediate breast reconstruction has been practiced to be 101 patients in our hospital for the five years. The choice of surgical procedures for early breast cancer should be determined by each patient on the practice of informed consent.
