1. Information about this Guideline – Breast Cancer

German Guideline Program in Oncology of the Association of Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften e. V., AWMF), the German Cancer Society (Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft e. V., DKG), and German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe, DKH).

This Guideline was funded by the German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe, DKH) as part of the German Guideline Program in Oncology.

Guideline Program in Oncology Office 


c/o German Cancer Society (DKG)


Kuno-Fischer-Strasse

8
14057 Berlin, Germany

www.leitlinienprogramm-onkologie.de

Leitlinienprogramm-Onkologie (Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft, Deutsche Krebshilfe, AWMF): S3-Leitlinie Interdisciplinary Evidenced-based Practice Guideline for the Early Detection, Diagnosis, Treatment and Follow-up of Breast Cancer, Langversion 4.4, 2021, AWMF-Registernummer 032/045OL, http://www.leitlinienprogramm-onkologie.de/leitlinien/mammakarzinom/

April 2018 Version 4.1: General editorial revision. The background text in Chapter 3.2.2. was edited, as were Figure 4 and Figure 5. In the recommendation boxes 3.8, 3.13, 4.40, 4.53, 4.69, 4.72, “Recommendation” was changed to “Statement”. The parentheses around “(SLNE ≥ 3 Lnn.)“ were omitted in Table 9. Correction made to QI 6 (mi added).

Medicine is constantly evolving. This makes all information—particularly about diagnostic and therapeutic procedures—only as good as the state of knowledge at the time the Guideline went to print. The greatest possible care has been taken with the recommendations given herein for treatment as well as for the choice and dosage of medications. Nevertheless, guideline users are advised to refer to the manufacturer's instruction leaflet and the prescribing information and, in case of doubt, consult a specialist. In everybody's general interest, please report any inconsistencies or discrepancies you may find to the editorial board of the German Guideline Program in Oncology.

The user remains personally liable for all diagnostic and therapeutic applications, medications and dosages.

Registered trademarks and brand names are not specifically identified in these care guidelines. It therefore cannot be inferred that a trademark is free merely by the lack of any such reference.

This work is protected in whole and in part. Any use that could infringe on copyright laws is prohibited and constitutes a criminal offence unless written permission for said use has been obtained from the editorial board of the German Guideline Program in Oncology. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of the editorial board of the German Guideline Program in Oncology. This holds in particular for copies, translations, microfiche, as well as the saving, use, and exploitation in electronic systems, intranets, and the internet.

With the German Guideline Program in Oncology, the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF), the German Cancer Society (DKG), and the German Cancer Aid (DKH) have set themselves the task of jointly promoting and supporting the development, updating and use of scientifically founded and practicable guidelines in oncology. The program is based on medical-scientific knowledge of the professional societies and the DKG, the consensus of medical experts, users and patients, as well as regulations of the guideline preparation of the AWMF and the expert support and funding by the German Cancer Aid. To map current medical knowledge and account for progress in the field of medicine, guidelines have to be reviewed and updated regularly. The AWMF Guidance Manual forms the basis for the development of high-quality oncologic guidelines. As guidelines constitute an important quality assurance and quality management tool in oncology, they should be incorporated specifically and consistently into routine care. Active implementation measures and evaluation programs are therefore an important component in promoting the Guideline Program in Oncology. The objective of the program is to create professional and medium-term financially secure preconditions for the development and production of high-quality guidelines in Germany. These high-quality guidelines serve not only the structured transfer of knowledge, but may also find their place in health care system structures. Worth mentioning here are evidence-based guidelines as the basis for preparing and updating disease management programs or for implementing guideline-derived quality indicators (QIs) for the certification of organ cancer centers.

This document is the comprehensive version of the Interdisciplinary S3 Practice Guideline for the Early Detection, Diagnosis, Treatment and Follow-up of Breast Cancer and can be accessed via the links listed below: In addition to this comprehensive version, the following supplementary documents are available:

• Short version of the guideline
• Lay version (patient guideline)
• Guideline Report on its development process
• Evidence tables This Guideline and all additional documents are available via the following websites.
• Guideline Program in Oncology (http://www.leitlinienprogramm-onkologie.de/leitlinien/mammakarzinom/)
• AWMF (www.leitlinien.net)
• Guidelines International Network (www.g-i-n.net)

In addition, a print version of the Patient Guidelines can be ordered from the DKH (https://www.krebshilfe.de/informieren/ueber-krebs/infothek/)