ABSTRACT
Seen before as a secondary branch in the field of surgery, the surgery of breast cancer is now a fully stand-alone specialty. A number of factors explain this trend: a dramatic increase of incidence, which practically doubled during the past twenty years, an evolution of the surgical practices leading to a "therapeutic coming-down" and, above all, a complexification of indications and elements of classification. The surgeon still remains the first actor of the treatment, often seing the patient in first place, and having by his surgical treatment a key action on the prognosis and the patient's quality of life. Nevertheless, the surgeon is not anymore the only master of the situation, as he once could have been. Breast cancer is now the archetypal disease where a multidisciplinary approach is mandatory at every stage. The aim of this article is to overview the reality of breast cancer at present, trying to clarify the numerous elements of classification, otherwise confusing.
