Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Advanced Breast Cancer in China (2024 Edition).

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women globally. In 2022, there were approximately 357,161 new cases and 74,986 deaths from breast cancer among Chinese females. Of the new cases of breast cancer each year, about 5%-10% of patients have distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Of the early-stage patients, 20%-30% of cases eventually develop into advanced breast cancer (ABC). Although ABC is currently difficult to cure, we can alleviate the clinical symptoms of patients, improve their quality of life, and further prolong their survival time by applying new therapeutic drugs and optimizing treatment models to achieve the purpose of long-term survival with tumors. To better guide clinical practice, the Chinese expert group, based on the latest research progress in breast cancer, has analyzed, discussed, and updated the relevant research data on the basis of the "Guidelines for clinical diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer in China (2022 edition)" to formulate the "Guidelines for clinical diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer in China (2024 edition)." The updated guidelines incorporate new evidence generated by high-quality evidence-based medicine, new concepts in molecular pathological detection, new treatment strategies, new progress in precision medicine, and adverse events of new therapeutic drugs. At the same time, the updated guidelines emphasize multidisciplinary collaboration and pay attention to patient-reported outcomes. The "Guidelines for clinical diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer in China (2024 edition)" aim to provide clinicians with recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of ABC in China, thereby improving patient outcomes and quality of life.