Does our better understanding of breast cancer also improve the way we treat it?

The evolution of breast cancer therapy is a paradigm of the application of the scientific method to improve the length and quality of life of our patients (1). Each of the major steps forward that have occurred over the last century was started by the courageous ideas of leading scientists, carried on by the clinical trial machinery with the invaluable help of the patients themselves and finalized by the scientific community with the actual adoption of changes of practice based on the results of such trials.