Two hundred seventy‐five patients with breast cancer and no axillary metastases had mastectomies and axillary node dissection performed during the period between 1970 and 1979 at The Fox Chase Cancer Center. They had a mean age of 60 years (range, 21–91) and 38 (14%) patients have had recurrence to date. Poor histologic differentiation and skin involvement were related to a high risk of recurrence. Those patients with skin infiltration by tumor or a poorly differentiated tumor had a 53 ± 9% expected five‐year tumor‐free survival, whereas patients without these had a 90 ± 2% expected five‐year tumor‐free survival. Tumor involvement of the lymphatic vessels within the breast and estrogen receptor protein positivity or negativity were not helpful for identifying a subpopulation at increased risk of recurrence. Large tumor size was not a poor prognostic indicator for a patient subpopulation. These factors should be considered as indicators for inclusion in clinical trials and adjuvant therapy and used as stratification points for the analysis of the data developed in these trials. Cancer 50:1820‐1827, 1982.

-The term "theranostics" characterizes a particular combination of the coupled use of a drug therapy with a diagnostic test (called "companion diagnostics"). The diagnostic test marks out the technical means used to identify a biomarker which allows for adjusting the use of the new drug. Theranostics promise a significant step forward for the use of personalized medicine, better tailored for patients in terms of efficacy and tolerance. The development process of theranostics is complex since it requires a proper phasing from development to reimbursement, through a collaborative and controlled approach. The task force's recommendations should form the basis for reflection and action amongst the different players in the field of the development of theranostics. All stages of the system meeting heterogeneous and asynchronous rules should be harmonized to allow for simultaneous availability of, and access to the drug and test. Nevertheless, it is necessary to simplify the regulations to enable a better adaptation of theranostics to the speed of innovation.

Bilateral primary breast cancers occur commonly enough to justify adoption of special pre- and post-initial therapy screening. A 13.2% incidence of bilateral breast carcinoma has been found in the breast cancer patients who presented to the Fox Chase Cancer Center with an operatively manageable primary in an arbitrarily defined 30-month period and who have been followed for at least 20 months thereafter. Of the 287 patients seen in those 30 months, 4.5% had synchronously detectable lesions. Xeroradiography is helpful in the initial and follow-up evaluation of the patient for detection of a second primary and may lead to the discovery of an earlier-stage lesion. A history of a family member having a breast cancer was shown to be significant, 26% and 24% for primary and secondary relatives, respectively, and warrant a special screening strategy. Recognition of these factors may lead to earlier detection of curable breast cancers.