Without a doubt, malignant cancer tumors may affect any area of the body. 

Nevertheless there are specific areas where the combined effort of the treatment team is particularly important, such as the head, neck and breast.

In the last 75 years the treatment and to a certain extent the spectrum of head and neck cancer has changed since Crile’s description of a radical neck dissection. The pendulum has oscillated between dependence on radiotherapy as a first modality of treatment, to treatment by surgery alone. The combination of these types of treatment, radiotherapy and surgery, was described originally 35 years ago with the belief that a combination of the two treatments would achieve a better cure rate than any one of the two treatments alone.

Today, the majority of physicians involved in this field are convinced that such an improvement in survival rates can not be demonstrated and that the risks of surgical complications are not compensated by the benefits. The decline of enthusiasm with pre-surgical radiotherapy was accompanied by an increase in interest with the use of various chemotherapeutic agents and by modifications in the surgical procedures in order to decrease the functional and aesthetic impact to the patient, when at all possible.

Another tendency in the treatment of head and neck neoplasms is immediate reconstruction of the defect caused by the oncologic ablation. Better rehabilitation is obtained with the restoration of the deglutition and language functions.

The last 20 years have been particularly important due to growth and development in the field of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery of the breast. During these years, the focus in the management of breast cancer has changed from radical primary resection to reconstructive surgery involving physiologic and aesthetic considerations.

Plastic and reconstructive breast surgeons have responded to patient requirements with a wider range of techniques in order to offer breast augmentation, reduction and reconstruction. Recent advances make reconstruction possible with autologous tissues; reduced scaring is also a tendency. An example is the use of muscle and skin flaps for problem cases related to previous radiotherapy.

Other breast reconstruction techniques have also been very useful for providing better aesthetics to the mastectomy patient. One such technique involves the use of tissue expanders of various designs.

Of course early cancer detection is of utmost importance and is related to timely treatment and improved survival.