Breast Surgery/Oncology

1. Overview

Our department diagnoses and treat a wide range of breast diseases.
With our newly renovated Breast Center operating since April 2021, we have been able to manage effectively from screening, diagnosing to surgically treating a wide range of breast diseases.

• How We May Diagnose Your Breast Issues
  Breast diseases are often diagnosed by using simple imaging such as mammography (MMG), ultrasound (echo), or by more advanced imaging such as MRI.
  If necessary, the breast tissue sample may be obtained (histopathology testing) by inserting a fine needle through the breast in order to reach a more definitive diagnosis. Breast tissue sampling is obtained safely with the guidance of ultrasound or mammography. The diagnosis would help us to determine the most appropriate treatment for the breast disease.
   
• Choosing Appropriate Surgical Methods
  We offer treatments for benign breast diseases such as fibroadenoma, phyllodes tumor, papilloma and mastopathy, to more serious diseases such as breast cancer. We select the most appropriate surgical methods with each patient depending on the diseases and patient’s conditions. Some of our surgical methods include simple tumor resection, partial breast tissue removal (partial mastectomy, breast-conserving surgery) to total resection of breast tissue (total mastectomy) and nipple-sparing breast removal with or without reconstructive surgery.
  Sentinel lymph node biopsy may be performed during surgery guided by radioactive isotopes (RI) or fluorescence such as indocyanine green (ICG).

  We understand that the cosmetic outcome is often important after breast surgery. We do offer insertion of artificial implants (expanders) to appropriate patients after a mastectomy, often by closely collaborating with our plastic surgeons to ensure the best possible cosmetic outcome for our patients.

• Multidisciplinary Approach to Treatment
  We work in close collaboration with our Radiology and Medical Oncology colleagues to optimally provide hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy before and after surgery. We also develop treatment plans for breast cancer metastasis and recurrence using this multidisciplinary approach.

2. Policy

• We Provide Optimal Treatments Available Based on Latest Evidence
  We aim to provide the best medical treatments based on the most up to date evidence within the scope of medical insurance coverage. Advances in breast cancer treatment are being made on a daily basis, and it is not uncommon to find that what was common sense five or ten years ago no longer applies. Our goal is to constantly incorporate the latest evidence in our treatment, ensuring that our patients receive the best possible treatment at the time.
   
• We Offer Genetic Testing and Counseling to Both Men and Women
  Our department offers genetic testing and counseling available to both men and women. We feel that this is important in patients with breast cancer given that approximately 5% to 10% of breast cancer is known to be caused by the genetic abnormalities. Our department addresses breast diseases in both men and women. This is because breast diseases occur in both men and women, though breast cancer is more common in women.
   
• We Offer Highly Specialized Care
  We strive to provide highly specialized care to all patients with breast diseases by a team consisting of specialists certified by the Japanese Surgical Society Board and the Japanese Breast Cancer Society Board.
   
• We Aim to Minimize Waiting Time from the Time of Diagnosis to the Treatment of Breast Cancer
  We understand that treating your breast cancer can be stressful and the waiting time until your treatment/operation is often the source of concerns for many patients. For patients with no underlying medical conditions, we aim to start your treatment/operations within 30 days of the breast cancer diagnosis.
   

3. Our Strengths

We Value Team-Based Approach to Treatment

Good communication and teamwork are often central to providing a high-quality treatment for breast cancer. We usually have detailed discussions with our multi-disciplinary teams to determine the best treatment plan for each patient with breast cancer. The multi-disciplinary team consists of breast surgeons, radiologists, oncologists, oncology nurses, ultrasound and radiographers, genetic counselors, orthopedic surgeons and physiotherapist.

4. Breast Cancer Screening

At NTT Medical Center Tokyo, our dedicated Breast Centre is able to offer a wide range of breast cancer screening services. Our on-site imaging facility includes mammography, ultrasound and MRI, enabling our department to determine accurate diagnosis for many breast diseases,
Patients with abnormalities found on their imaging are kindly requested to bring the result with them (in the form CD) in order to minimize delay in treatments at our hospital.

Message for Our Patients

Breast Surgical Oncology is a relatively new department established in April 2019. We are therefore constantly updating our facilities, equipment, and skills in order to offer the best treatments for our patients. This may occasionally cause inconvenience to some of our patients at time and we would appreciate any constructive feedbacks or questions.

In order to optimize the care for our breast cancer patients, we are currently conducting a wide range of research into breast cancer. Patients may be occasionally asked to give their consent for participating in some research projects at times. If you have any questions about our research, please feel free to talk to any our medical staffs.