Active surveillance (AS) of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma was first suggested by Dr. Akira Miyauchi at Kuma Hospital in 1993. Based on several subsequent evidences, AS was approved by the American Thyroid Association in 2015. AS is no longer an experimental treatment but has become an acceptable standard of care for patients with low-risk thyroid cancers. No molecular markers, such as BRAF mutations, have been identified to predict the prognosis of papillary thyroid cancer. However, future molecular studies may reveal the relationship between genetic mutations and thyroid cancer prognosis. AS involves closely monitoring thyroid cancer over time, instead of immediately treating it with surgery. Patients and medical doctors should consider these two options: observation or surgery.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in Korean women and its incidence has increased. Among the various treatment methods for breast cancer, chemotherapy plays an important role. The use chemotherapy to treat breast cancer began at the mid 20th century and first combination chemotherapy was conducted in mid 1970s. This chemotherapy reduced breast cancer mortality up to 25~30%, anthracycline and taxane based chemotherapeutic regimens are widely used. Chemotherapy could be classified to neoadjuavnt, adjuvant and palliative setting according to its aim and role. In this review, various drug therapeutic options and their backgrounds are considered based on neoadjuvant, adjuvant and metastatic systemic therapies.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Developing of an Integrative Medicine Inpatient Care Program for Breast Cancer Patients Post-Chemotherapy Eun-Bin Ko, Jun-Bock Jang, Deok-Sang Hwang Perspectives on Integrative Medicine.2025; 4(1): 51. CrossRef
Effects of a Group Coaching Program on Depression, Anxiety and Hope in Women with Breast Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy So Ryoung Seong, Moon-kyung Cho, Jeeyoon Kim, Yeo Ok Kim Asian Oncology Nursing.2017; 17(3): 188. CrossRef
The phenomenological study of self-management intervention among breast cancer survivors: Non-pharmacological approaches Seok-Mo Heo, Narae Heo Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society.2016; 17(12): 270. CrossRef