Surgical resection of the primary tumor in combination treatment of patients with stage IV breast cancer

The present paper is devoted to the major treatment modalities for generalized breast cancer. A detailed extensive analysis of recent studies was carried out with the aim to consider whether surgery as a part of multimodality treatment strategy is beneficial for patients with stage IV breast cancer. The study included 196 patients with generalized breast cancer, who were treated at P.A. Gertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute between 2000 and 2012. All patients were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of 124 patients who underwent surgical resection as a part of multimodality treatment. The second group included 72 patients who received systemic therapy. The factors influencing on the prognosis and life quality of patients with generalized breast cancer, namely: hormone-dependent tumor, Her2/neu hyper-expression, reproductive function status (age, menopause) were also studied.