In Oncology, every step forward is capitalized.

These advances if wrongly analysed in isolation may be questioned because of its limited relevance. However, the SEOM wants to emphasize that every step achieved and accumulated has led to change significantly the prognosis and quality of life of many patients with cancer.

Therefore, in Oncology, every advance by small that may seem has and is the sum of each advance that allows results and change the lives of many patients.

Considering the global of all malignant tumours, early 1980s, survival at five years from diagnosis hardly exceeded 45%, while now approaching 65% of cases.

With more than 200,000 cases of diagnosis of cancer a year in Spain, this means that the patients alive after five years of diagnosis are 130,000 instead of 90,000. Nothing more and nothing less than 40,000 patients but if not would have taken into account each of these advances.

At the beginning of the 1980s, diagnosed women of breast cancer had a chance of being free of relapse five years after diagnosis which was around 70%. Today the figure is approaching 90%. This benefit has not been achieved by chance.

– in the 1970s were the first results that benefit patients receive treatment with chemotherapy after surgery.

-also in the 70’s had success the hormonal treatment of advanced breast cancer with tamoxifen which soon after began to be used in early stages of the disease.

– In the 1980s, a new chemotherapy, the anthracyclines ” improved results with previous schemes, and it was not until the end of the 1990s when taxanes increased even more the benefits of the anthracyclines.

-the incorporation of new hormonal at the beginning of the twenty-first century treatments improved the results of the tamoxifen.

-the discovery of cancers with different profiles biological allowed over the past decade to incorporate monoclonal antibodies to positive Her2 breast cancer treatment, hitherto poor prognosis by their greater aggressiveness.

-in addition, in these three decades the proportion of much more conservative surgeries or non-intervention of the armpitavoiding complications and improving the quality of life of patients has been another event of great significance.

Each of these steps, in many cases, just improving the treatments previously existing in a 2% or 3% lower rate of recurrence of the disease. Anything that could be considered irrelevant. With more than 20,000 cases a year of breast cancer in Spain, each 1% improvement with a breakthrough in the treatment of breast cancer makes 200 fewer women fall of his illness. Each of these women has name and surname.

At the beginning of the year 2000, more than 1200 Spanish women participated in a clinical trial of the Spanish group for research in Breast Cancer which showed that adding paclitaxel chemotherapy which until then was considered standard managed that they would fall 6% of women disease. Today many taxanes in Spain only prevent more than 500 relapses per year.

It is just one example of a type of tumor, but there are many others of equal or greater magnitude and not only in early stages. Achievements in advanced cancer have significantly increased chance of survival in many tumors; sometimes adding benefits for few months but grouped are of great importance.

The SEOM will continue informing and providing data that corroborate that Oncology each advance by small that may seem, has and is fundamental. IN ONCOLOGY, EVERY STEP FORWARD IS CAPITALIZED.