Breast Cancer Research was launched in 1999 with the aim of providing a home for translational research in breast cancer . The field of translational research has advanced considerably over the past ten years, and the journal has evolved over this time to meet the changing needs of the breast cancer research community. As we celebrate Breast Cancer Research's 10th birthday, we take this opportunity to reflect on the journal's growth over the last decade.

Breast Cancer Research is committed to open access publication of research articles, and remains the only journal in the breast cancer field dedicated to open access. Open access means research is universally and freely available via the Internet. Authors retain their own copyright, allowing them to grant any third party the right to use, reproduce and disseminate the article. Open access has broad benefits both for scientists and the general public. Anyone with an Internet connection is able to read the research for free without having to rely on access to a library with a subscription. For example, the 2006 paper by Scutt et al.  received wide coverage  and was instantly available for any interested patients or clinicians – something that is much more difficult for articles published in subscription based journals.