Inflammatory Breast Cancer

What is inflammatory breast cancer?

Inflammatory breast cancer is a fairly rare form of breast cancer, accounting for less than 5% of all breast cancer cases in America. It is far more aggressive than more common types of breast cancer, appearing rapidly and spreading easily to other parts of the body.

Because it is an aggressive disease the survival rate for inflammatory breast cancer is lower than for other forms of breast cancer, with on average less than 50% of patients living for longer than five years after diagnosis. However, each case is individual and if it is caught in its early stages, the treatment of inflammatory breast cancer can be very effective.

Inflammatory breast cancer occurs when cancerous cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast. This tends to occur at a younger age than other more common forms of breast cancer.

How is inflammatory breast cancer treated?

Unlike more common types of breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer patients usually receive a course of chemotherapy before they have surgery. This can shrink the tumour in the breast and prevent the aggressive cancer cells from spreading into other parts of the body.

Once the initial chemotherapy has been completed, most patients with inflammatory breast cancer will have some form of surgery to remove the cancerous tumour. This will often be a mastectomy to remove the entire breast but could also be a lumpectomy just to remove the tumour. Surgery is usually followed by radiotherapy to ensure that there are no cancerous cells left in area that the tumour has been taken from.

Surgery and radiotherapy can be followed by various treatments to prevent inflammatory breast cancer from recurring, including further chemotherapy, hormone therapy and biological therapy.

What are the symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer?

The symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer are quite distinct from those of other types of breast cancer. As the name suggests the affected breast appears to be inflamed or swollen. Symptoms also tend to appear very rapidly over a period of weeks rather than months. Here are the most common symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer:

The breast appears bigger or swollen

The breast looks red, purple or bruised

The breast is unusually hot to the touch

The breast feels heavy and aches

The skin of the breast has ridges or appears pitted like orange peel

The nipple becomes inverted

There is a burning feeling in the breast

It is important to note that with inflammatory breast cancer you are less likely to be able to feel a distinct lump or tumour than with other types of breast cancer.

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms it is important that you contact your doctor straight away. However, these symptoms could be signs of something other than inflammatory breast cancer, such as a simple infection. Seeing your doctor quickly and having some routine tests can either put your mind at rest or get you the treatment that you need.

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