Surgery for treatment and prevention of breast cancer.

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide (Sung et al., 2021). In the United States, approximately 13% of women are diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lifetimes. Because of advances in treatment, mortality from the disease has gradually declined over the past 3 decades. Most breast cancers are diagnosed at an early stage before cancer cells have spread to distant areas of the body (metastasis). According to the National Cancer Institute (n.d.), approximately 90% of women with breast cancer survive at least 5 years after diagnosis. Breast cancer now accounts for 30% of cancer diagnoses but only about 15% of cancer-related deaths in U.S. women (American Cancer Society, 2021). Breast cancer occurs in men relatively rarely (just under 1% of breast cancers) but is associated with somewhat greater mortality. This is likely because of disparities in breast cancer detection and treatment in men compared with women (Wang et al., 2019).Risk factors for breast cancer include female sex, increasing age, and a strong family history of breast cancer. Other risk factors include certain types of hormonal exposures (e.g., longer than average menstrual history;