Breast Cancer

Breast cancer can appear as a lump in the breast or armpit, as a change in the size, shape, or appearance of a breast, as nipple retraction or discharge, as a redness of the skin, or as dimpling (orange-peel-like skin). At the very early stage, breast cancer does not cause any symptoms at all, which is why bi-annual mammography screening is offered to all Swedish women between 40 and 74 years of age. About 50% of our patients are diagnosed after a symptom, the others are detected through screening. 

The diagnostic process starts with mammography and ultrasound; a tissue biopsy is taken in cases of a suspicious malignancy. Patients get the results of their examinations at the outpatient clinic, where they meet a surgeon and a contact nurse. All cases are discussed at a multidisciplinary team meeting where primary treatment is recommended (surgery or medical treatment first).

We are a full-service center and offer the combined expertise of several specialists. Around 900 breast surgeries are performed annually, and about 75% of them are breast-conserving procedures (91% for invasive tumors under 3 cm). We have a high rate of primary breast reconstructions in women having a mastectomy (30% at Karolinska compared to 13% in Sweden overall), and we have a high rate of primary systemic chemotherapy (about 30% compared to 15% in Sweden overall). The 5-year observed survival among our patients having breast cancer diagnosed at Karolinska in 2017-2021 was 87% compared to 84% in the rest of Sweden. Any participation in clinical studies is carried out in collaboration with our clinical trial unit and research nurses.