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Brian Vastag

JAMA. 2000;284:2707-2708.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Washington—Most women with early breast cancer opt for surgery—lumpectomy or mastectomy. But after the anesthesia wears off, patients and physicians face a confusing array of continuing treatment options. Radiation therapy, hormone blockers like tamoxifen, and an alphabet soup of chemotherapy regimens all play a role in heading off metastasis and recurrence. But exactly how to use them, and for whom, presents a challenge for clinicians.

Source: National Cancer Institute

Recognizing the need for guidance, the National Institutes of Health's Office of Medical Applications Research held a 3-day consensus development conference in Bethesda, Md, early last month. After hearing from two dozen top breast cancer researchers, an independent panel of 14 physicians and laypersons (each with no direct stake in breast cancer research) returned from a sleepless night of haggling over wording with a statement that garnered few objections from conference watchers.

The picture that emerged paints a . . . [Full Text of this Article]