Advanced Breast Cancer Treatment in Germany

There is no doubt that the treatment of breast cancer has made great strides in recent years. The diagnosis of breast cancer is no longer a death sentence, and the treatment is not more painful than the disease itself. Today, women with breast cancer live longer and better than ever before. Many of them are completely cured. And the future looks even brighter with individual newest methods of treatment and the ongoing clinical trials of new techniques and drugs.

The best prognosis for breast cancer in Germany

One of the leaders in the treatment of oncological diseases in the world is Germany with its most modern equipment and the best oncologist specialists. Excellent results of treatment in Germany indicate a high quality of medical care in the cancer centers of the country.

How successful is interdisciplinary breast cancer treatment ? Since 2003, the Breast Center at Heidelberg University Hospital has systematically monitored the development of breast cancer in more than 3,000 patients, and, as the first center in Germany, published these significant promising results: eighty-six percent of patients lived the first five years after initiation of treatment, with 80 % Of them remained without symptoms during this period. The research was published in February 2012 in The Breast.

Eighty-six percent of patients survived five years after treatment.

The interdisciplinary team in Heidelberg evaluates treatment data for all 3,338 patients with newly diagnosed malignant breast cancer at the Breast Center of the Heidelberg University Hospital from 2003 to 2010. Five years after the initial treatment, 80% of the patients had no signs of disease, that is, no relapse of cancer. In 15% of patients, the tumor recurred in the chest, and in 19% of the cases, metastases occurred. Eighty-six percent of patients survived the first five years after the initial diagnosis. Taking into account deaths that were not associated with breast cancer, an estimate showed that only 10% of patients died of cancer within the first five years after diagnosis.

Interdisciplinary tumor management provides advice on treatment

"Our results will serve as a basis for further improving the preventive care and treatment of breast cancer patients," said Professor Schneeweiss. "In this field, with the structures created at the National Center for Tumor Diseases in Heidelberg, we set the standards for other centers in Germany." Since 2003, Professor Schneeweiss has been able to thoroughly document all cases of breast cancer, which currently constitute a database for this and other similar analyzes, and will continue to do so in the future. Professor Schneeweiss is also the head of interdisciplinary tumor management and therefore is responsible for drawing up separate interdisciplinary treatment recommendations.

In 2003, the Breast Center at Heidelberg University Women's Hospital was one of the first centers in Germany, which was certified by the German Cancer Society and the German Society of Senology. To date, there are more than 200 certified breast centers in Germany. In 2006, the Breast Center was accredited by the European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists. For patients, this means that an experienced team of doctors provides modern methods of treatment, high quality diagnostics and treatment within the framework of interdisciplinary cooperation. In 2011, the Heidelberg University Hospital's Breast Center cured over 600 newly diagnosed patients, making it one of the largest breast centers in Germany.