Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Read 3 stories about women living with inflammatory breast cancer:
- Doctors Acted Quickly on My Inflammatory Breast Cancer and I Feel Fortunate
- An 11-Month Journey to Learning I Had Inflammatory Breast Cancer
- I Feel Lucky My Doctor Knew about Inflammatory Breast Cancer
What is inflammatory breast cancer?
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive form of locally advanced breast cancer.
The main symptoms of IBC are swelling and redness in the breast. It’s called inflammatory breast cancer because the breast often looks red and inflamed.
Most inflammatory breast cancers are invasive ductal carcinomas [157]. This means they began in the milk ducts.
About 1-5 percent of breast cancers in the U.S. are IBC [157-158]. Women with IBC tend to be diagnosed at a slightly younger age than women with other breast cancers [157-158].
Some women are more likely than others be diagnosed with IBC, including [157-161]:
- Black and African American women
- Women who are obese
Although some social media posts suggest IBC is a new form of breast cancer, it was first identified in the 1800s [159].
Learn about treatment for IBC.
Warning signs of IBC
Warning signs of IBC include [157-158]:
- Swelling or enlargement of the breast
- Redness of the breast (may also be a pinkish or purplish tone)
- Dimpling or puckering of the skin of the breast
- Pulling in of the nipple
- Breast pain
See images of these warning signs.
Sometimes a lump can be felt, but it’s less common with IBC than with other breast cancers.
Signs of IBC tend to arise quickly, within weeks or months. With other breast cancers, warning signs may not occur for years.
If any of the changes above last longer than a week, tell your health care provider. If you’re not comfortable with your health care provider’s recommendation, it’s always OK to get a second opinion.
Diagnosis of IBC
Challenges of diagnosing IBC
Routine mammography can miss IBC because of its rapid onset.
IBC can also be hard to see on a mammogram. It’s often spread throughout the breast or it may only show up as a sign of inflammation, such as skin thickening [158].
In some cases, skin changes (listed above) or a lump (if present) may be noted during a clinical breast exam.
IBC may first be mistaken for an infection or mastitis because of symptoms such as redness and swelling, and the frequent lack of a breast lump.
If you have any of the warning signs listed above and they last longer than a week, tell your health care provider. It’s always OK to get a second opinion if you’re not comfortable with your health care provider’s recommendation.
Biopsy and IBC diagnosis
IBC may be diagnosed based on clinical appearance, but a biopsy is needed to confirm the diagnosis of invasive breast cancer.
A biopsy also gives information on the tumor, such as hormone receptor status and HER2 status. These factors help guide treatment.
Metastases and IBC
About one-third of women with IBC have metastases when they are diagnosed [158]. This means the cancer has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other parts of the body such as the bones, lungs, liver or brain.
For this reason, when IBC is diagnosed, tests for metastases are done to see if it has spread to other parts of the body.
Learn about treatment for metastatic breast cancer.
Prognosis for IBC
Although survival rates for IBC may not be as high as for other breast cancers, modern treatments are improving prognosis [161-167].
With modern treatment, some studies estimate 5-year survival with IBC to be about 62 percent, and median survival time to be about 8 years [166-167].
Prognosis, however, depends on each person’s diagnosis and treatment.
Learn about treatment for non-metastatic IBC.
Learn about treatment for metastatic breast cancer.
 | For a summary of research studies on survival in women with IBC, visit the Breast Cancer Research Studies section. |
Factors that affect prognosis for IBC
Hormone receptor status and HER2 status
Triple negative IBC are hormone receptor-negative and HER2-negative. Triple negative IBC and IBC that are hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative tend to have a worse prognosis than other IBC [158,166].
Hormone receptor-negative breast cancers, such as triple negative IBC, can be treated with chemotherapy, but they can’t be treated with hormone therapy.
HER2-positive breast cancers can be treated with chemotherapy and with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and other HER2-targeted therapies. So, women with HER2-positive IBC tend to have better survival than women with HER2-negative IBC [157-158,166].
Lymph node status
Most women with IBC have lymph node-positive breast cancer when they are diagnosed [157-158]. This means the lymph nodes in the underarm area (axillary lymph nodes) contain cancer.
Lymph node-positive breast cancers tend to have poorer survival than lymph node-negative cancers (when the lymph nodes don’t contain cancer) [168].
The more lymph nodes that contain cancer, the poorer the prognosis tends to be [168].
Learn more about factors that affect prognosis.
Treatment for non-metastatic IBC
IBC is treated with a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. Treatment may also include hormone therapy and/or HER2-targeted therapy.
Find a list of questions for your health care provider about non-metastatic IBC.
Learn about clinical trials for IBC.
Neoadjuvant (before surgery) therapy
The first treatment for IBC is neoadjuvant chemotherapy, usually with an anthracycline-based chemotherapy and a taxane-based chemotherapy.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy helps shrink the tumor(s) in the breast and lymph nodes so surgery can better remove all the cancer.
When possible, all the chemotherapy planned to treat IBC is given before surgery [7]. If the tumor does not get smaller with the first combination of chemotherapy drugs, other combinations can be tried.
For people with HER2-positive IBC, neoadjuvant therapy usually includes chemotherapy and the HER2-targeted therapy drugs trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) [7]. These drugs are not given at the same time as the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (Adriamycin) [7].
In some cases, if the tumor does not respond to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, radiation therapy may be given before surgery [7].
Learn more about neoadjuvant therapy.
Surgery and radiation therapy
Surgery for IBC is almost always a mastectomy with an axillary dissection. The axillary dissection removes some lymph nodes in the underarm area (axillary lymph nodes).
Surgery is followed by radiation therapy. Almost all women with IBC will need radiation therapy.
Breast reconstruction
With IBC, breast reconstruction is usually done after radiation therapy is completed, rather than at the same time as the mastectomy. This may be called “delayed” reconstruction.
Delayed reconstruction ensures the radiation therapy can be done effectively and in a timely way.
Chemotherapy, hormone therapy and HER2-targeted therapy
Treatments after surgery and radiation therapy depend on prior treatment and tumor characteristics [7]:
- If chemotherapy was not completed before surgery, the remaining chemotherapy is given after surgery.
- HER2-positive IBC is treated with HER2-targeted therapy (a combination of trastuzumab and pertuzumab) before and/or after surgery.
- Hormone receptor-positive IBC is treated with hormone therapy.
Under study
Treatments after neoadjuvant therapy for women with IBC who still have cancer in the breast at the time of surgery are under study.
Treatment guidelines
Although the exact treatment for breast cancer varies from person to person, guidelines help ensure high-quality care. These guidelines are based on the latest research and agreement among experts.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) are respected organizations that regularly review and update their guidelines.
In addition, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has treatment overviews.
Talk with your health care team about which treatment guidelines they use.
Playing an active role
You play an active role in making treatment decisions by understanding your breast cancer diagnosis, your treatment options and possible side effects.
Together, you and your health care provider can choose treatments that fit your values and lifestyle.
Learn more about factors that affect treatment options.
| For a summary of research studies on neoadjuvant chemotherapy and breast cancer treatment, visit the Breast Cancer Research Studies section. |
| For a summary of research studies on neoadjuvant hormone therapy and breast cancer treatment, visit the Breast Cancer Research Studies section. |
| For a summary of research studies on radiation therapy following mastectomy in women with invasive breast cancer, visit the Breast Cancer Research Studies section. |
| For a summary of research studies on chemotherapy and overall survival in breast cancer, visit the Breast Cancer Research Studies section. |
| For a summary of research studies on survival in women with IBC, visit the Breast Cancer Research Studies section. |
Clinical trials for IBC
Research is ongoing to improve treatment for IBC.
New therapies are being studied in clinical trials. The results of these trials will decide whether these therapies will become part of the standard of care.
After discussing the benefits and risks with your health care provider, we encourage you to consider joining a clinical trial.
When to consider joining a clinical trial
If you’re newly diagnosed with IBC, consider joining a clinical trial before starting treatment. For most people, treatment doesn’t usually start right after you’ve been diagnosed. So, there’s time to look for a clinical trial.
Once you’ve begun treatment for IBC, it can be hard to join a clinical trial.
Susan G. Komen® Breast Care Helpline |
If you or a loved one needs information or resources about clinical trials, call the Komen Breast Care Helpline at 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877- 465- 6636) or email clinicaltrialinfo@komen.org. The Helpline offers breast cancer clinical trial education and support, such as:
Se habla español. |
BreastCancerTrials.org in collaboration with Susan G. Komen® offers a custom matching service to help find clinical trials that fit your health needs, including trials for people with IBC.
Learn more about clinical trials.
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The National Academy of Sciences released the report, Delivering High-Quality Cancer Care: Charting a New Course for a System in Crisis in 2013. Susan G. Komen® was one of 13 organizations that sponsored this study. The report identified key ways to improve quality of care:
Read the full report. |
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*Please note, the information provided within Komen Perspectives articles is only current as of the date of posting. Therefore, some information may be out of date.
Updated 05/21/21
