Inflammatory Breast Cancer

What is Inflammatory Breast Cancer?

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rather uncommon type of breast cancer, that accounts for about 2% of all diagnoses. It is a form of infiltrating breast cancer that grows very fast and makes the breast appear swollen.

The cancer cells interfere with the normal flow of the lymph throughout the breast skin, causing it to look swollen, reddened and infected. However, this type of cancer is not caused by inflammation or infection, as people used to believe.

The appearance of the skin in inflammatory breast cancer is often described as peau d'orange , because it is similar to an orange peel. Sometimes it also develops small bumps and ridges.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Diagnosis

There are a few symptoms that can indicate an inflammatory breast cancer:

• swelling 
• reddened breast skin
• warmth 
• pitted appearance of the skin, similar to an orange peel
• a change in the breast shape or size 
• swollen lymph nodes
• nipple discharge
• an inverted nipple

As inflammatory breast cancer symptoms are very much alike to breast infection signs, many patients, as well as some physicians, often mistaken it for an infection. However, unlike infections, it won't respond to antibiotics.

If the symptoms last longer than a couple of weeks even under treatment, the patient should be examined for inflammatory breast cancer. 

Generally, inflammatory breast cancer is classified as Stage III breast cancer. If it has spread to the lymph nodes or other organs as well, it is classified as Stage IV cancer.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Treatment

If the cancer hasn't spread to other organs and tissues, a mastectomy (removal of the  whole breast) can be performed. However, as inflammatory breast cancer affects the lymphatic vessels of the breast skin and the skin is stitched together after surgery, mastectomy involves the risk of recurrence. Consequently, other treatments, such as chemotherapy should also be considered.

Chemotherapy is a treatment with anti-cancer medication. It is usually performed before a local treatment, such as surgery or radiation.

A common chemotherapy regimen used in inflammatory breast cancer is CAF. Physicians are currently investigating whether a high-dose chemotherapy treatment would be suitable for inflammatory breast cancer. This kind of treatment causes severe damage to bone marrow cells so it might also require a bone marrow transplant as well.

If mastectomy is performed, patients suffering from inflammatory breast cancer receive a chemotherapy treatment after surgery, followed by radiation therapy.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Prognosis

Inflammatory breast cancer is a severe medical condition. This is why the prognosis has been generally pessimistic. Previous statistics show that the survival rate for inflammatory breast cancer is about eighteen months.

However, more recent research studies have shown that, due to the advancement in cancer treatment, the survival rate is much higher. Currently, with chemotherapy, mastectomy and radiation, the five-year survival rate is about 40%. Researchers hope that treatment options will improve even more in the near future.