Guest Editor

The January 2000 issue of The Ochsner Journal addresses the most current information available on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of breast cancer. Ochsner Clinic and Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation have a long tradition of excellence in breast cancer treatment and, more recently, in breast cancer chemoprevention. Ochsner investigators have been pioneers in breast conservation, and currently 70% of all women newly diagnosed with breast cancer at Ochsner are candidates for a procedure less drastic than a mastectomy. Innovative new diagnostic techniques have been employed at Ochsner, such as fine needle aspiration biopsies by Dr. William Mitchell of the Pathology Department in early 1980s, stereotactic core needle biopsies by Dr. Gunnar Cederbom in the early 1990s, and sentinel node biopsies by Drs. John Bolton and George Fuhrman in the late 1990s. As well, almost 25,000 breast imaging procedures are currently performed at Ochsner annually. Interpretation of the large volume of screening mammograms is assisted by the new R2 computer, the latest in breast imaging technology.

Ochsner's contribution to breast cancer research dates back to the early work of Dr. Albert Segaloff in endocrine therapy in the 1950s and 1960s, and breast cancer research continues to be a high priority into the new millennium. Ochsner investigators were actively involved in the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial, which was initiated in 1992, and are currently enrolling patients on the second-generation breast cancer prevention trial (the STAR Trial). The demonstration that breast cancer can be prevented by tamoxifen was a major landmark in demonstrating for the first time that a major cancer can be prevented or at least delayed.

This issue of The Ochsner Journal contains a series of interesting papers including an historical perspective by Dr. Patrick Borgen, a former Ochsner surgery resident and currently the Chief of Breast Services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Other papers by Ochsner staff address current issues in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, and a provocative article by Dr. Mason discusses the possibility of the existence of a breast cancer virus. The final article is a thoughtful paper by Alexia Waring involving patient reactions in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

The authors and editors hope that you find this issue of the journal an interesting and informative treatment of this most important topic.

• Ochsner Clinic and Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation