Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
What are the symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer?
Inflammatory breast cancer, also called IBC, is an aggressive and fast growing cancer. In the past, it commonly was misdiagnosed as mastitis or dermatitis because it can look like an infection of the breast or a rash on the skin of the breast. Most of the time, the infection or rash clears after treatment with topical cream or oral antibiotics. If your rash or infection does not heal after one week of treatment, make an appointment with a breast specialist immediately.
How is inflammatory breast cancer diagnosed?
A diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer is confirmed by obtaining tissue from the skin of the breast during a skin punch biopsy. If a patient has inflammatory breast cancer, the pathology report will indicate that breast cancer cells are present in the dermal lymphatics.
Learn more about the steps of diagnosis, including:
- Digital mammography
- Ultrasound
- MRI
- Staging workup: (CT scans chest/abdomen/pelvis) & Bone Scan
- Core biopsy or Skin punch biopsy
What is the treatment for inflammatory breast cancer?
Inflammatory breast cancer is a fast and aggressive cancer that needs to be treated as such. A diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer is classified as stage III breast cancer. Treatment is as follows:
- Neoadjuvant chemotherapy – This first line of treatment clears the breast and skin of the disease and to make the breast operable.
- Mastectomy and chest wall radiation
- Hormonal therapy
- Biologic targeted therapy
