Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women (although men can get it too). Some breast cancers are driven by inherited mutations while most are sporadic, driven by unknown causes or by environmental or behavioral factors like obesity, lack of exercise, or alcohol use.

Breast cancer screening aims to reduce the number of women who die from the disease and the statistics tell us that even though the rates of breast cancer now are greater than they were in the early 1980s, fewer women are dying from the disease. However, the scientific evidence backing screening’s benefits is mixed.



We are talking to Dr. Esserman of UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center about developments in breast cancer screening and new treatments.