Treatment decisions in breast cancer.

Past surveys (Forrest et al. 1969; Nemoto 1973) of surgical opinion, albeit using diverse methods of inquiry, have suggested international differences in the extent of mastectomy for early breast cancer. A 1983 questionnaire (Gazet et al. 1985) to British surgeons about their treatment of primary breast cancer reported no consensus in respect of primary surgery, pattern of referral for postoperative radiotherapy or the use of adjuvant systemic treatment. This lack of consensus could, however, have derived from differences in disease presentation, as seen by different surgeons.