Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but aggressive type of breast cancer that develops rapidly. Unlike more common forms of breast cancer that present as a lump or suspicious area on a mammogram, IBC presents by making the affected breast red, swollen and tender. This occurs because tumor cells invade and block lymphatic vessels in the overlying skin. Fluid backs up, and the breast swells and becomes discolored. These symptoms may be confused with a diagnosis of mastitis or breast infection which causes redness, swelling and pain. The term inflammatory may be confusing as well since it is not the same inflammation process that occurs with an infection.
IBC accounts for 1-6 percent of all breast cancers and survival rates are lower, partly because it is consider an advanced cancer from the time of diagnosis. IBC tends to affect women at an average age of 59 — about three to seven years younger than the average age at which other types of breast cancer are diagnosed. Signs and symptoms include the following:

• Rapid change in the appearance of one breast, over the course of days or weeks
• Thickness, heaviness or visible enlargement of one breast
• Discoloration, giving the breast a red, purple, pink or bruised appearance
• Unusual warmth of the affected breast
• Dimpling or ridges on the skin of the affected breast, similar to an orange peel
• Itching
• Tenderness, pain or aching
• Enlarged lymph nodes under the arm, above the collarbone or below the collarbone
• Flattening or turning inward of the nipple
• Swollen or crusted skin on the nipple

Prompt medical attention is recommended if the above changes are noted, especially if the initial diagnosis is mastitis, but the symptoms do not go away after treatment with antibiotics. Persistent symptoms must not be ignored. Treatment for inflammatory breast cancer starts with chemotherapy, followed by surgery and radiation therapy. This combined-treatment approach has improved the outlook for women with inflammatory breast cancer. About half the women diagnosed with the condition survive five or more years, and nearly one-third survive 20 years after diagnosis.
Information retrieved from: www.mayoclinic.com/health/inflammatory-breast-cancer

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Last updated: 2009-11-03