What is Inflammatory Breast Cancer?
Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare type of invasive breast cancer that spreads very quickly to other parts of the body. It normally occurs in younger women when compared to other types of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is sometimes called IBC, for short.Inflammatory breast cancer occurs when breast cancer cells block the lymph vessel in the breast.
Symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Inflammatory breast cancer symptoms include:breast that looks red
See more inflammatory breast cancer symptoms.
Causes of Inflammatory Breast Cancer
It was once believed that IBC was causes by an infection, however this theory has been dismissed. IBC forms when breast cancer cells invade and block the lymph vessel, not allowing fluid to flow. This is why women with IBC have such appearance altering symptoms.Diagnosing Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Women usually see their doctor when they begin to experience symptoms of IBC. Unfortunately, it can be mistaken for mastitis, a breast infection, and proper diagnosis is delayed. It is recommended that if you are being treated for mastitis and the condition does not get better after a week of anti-biotic, then IBC screening should be considered.A breast biopsy is usually the first step in diagnosing inflammatory breast cancer. If a biopsy confirms IBC, then additional tests will be ordered to determine if and how much the disease has spread.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer Treatment
Treatment of IBC includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.Surgical treatment for IBC is a mastectomy of the affected breast. Chemotherapy is usually done prior to a mastectomy with IBC.
After surgery, radiation therapy is performed to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Source:
- National Cancer Insitute. Inflammatory Breast Cancer Fact Sheet; May 6, 2003.
- Mayo Clinic.com. Inflammatory Breast Cancer; February 3, 2006
