Staging for Breast Cancer: A Nationwide Survey about Adherence to Guidelines in German Breast Centers.

Introduction: The risk for metastasis at primary diagnosis of breast cancer is about 4%. The German guidelines give clear indications on when, who, and how to stage breast cancer patients. Ideally, this should be done via computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan of the thorax and abdomen and an additional bone scan.

Use of Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Postmenopausal Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer at German Breast Cancer Centers and University Hospitals - Results of an Enquiry (Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Enquiry).

BACKGROUND: Many studies about the adjuvant endocrine therapy of postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer have shown significant superiority of aromatase inhibitors (AIs) compared to tamoxifen only. Within these studies, different AIs (anastrozole, letrozole, exemestane) and treatment strategies (upfront, switch, extended adjuvant) were applied. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The intention of our enquiry was to evaluate the implementation of the results of these studies in German breast cancer centers and university hospitals.