Evolution of Medical Approaches and Prominent Therapies in Breast Cancer

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Breast cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women worldwide, with mortality rates largely driven by metastatic disease. Despite concerted efforts to uncover and target the mechanisms underlying these events, the five-year relative survival rate for metastatic breast cancer remains an abysmal 27%. To better inform future directions for managing this disease, it is helpful to examine the evolution of cancer research, from foundational concepts to therapies and their pitfalls. This review aims to provide a rich overview of the history of breast cancer therapies spanning antiquity to the modern era, concluding with the rapid advancements in immunotherapies and our eventual progression towards personalized medicine. ABSTRACT: An examination of the origins of medical approaches to breast cancer marks this disease as one of the most difficult to manage. As the early identification, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer evolve, we will move to a time when each patient and their cancer can be assessed to determine unique patient-specific (personalized) approaches to therapy. Humans have attempted to manage breast cancer for millennia. Even today, the disease claims thousands of lives each year. In light of the increasingly sophisticated understanding of cancer diagnosis and treatment, together with our ultimate failure to offer a cure in the most difficult cases, it is instructive to reflect on the beginnings of our understanding.