Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare but very malignant breast cancer. Treatment consists of combining several forms of therapy, but it is often not enough to combat the disease. Distant metastases appear quickly, which significantly worsens the prognosis and the chance of recovery. What are the symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer?

Inflammatory breast cancer , known as the three-letter abbreviation IBC (IBC), is a very aggressive form of cancer with an unfavorable prognosis. It is characterized by obstruction of the lymphatic vessels in the breast by cancer cells. This likely causes local inflammation. Usually, the cancer affects obese women after the menopause. The progression of changes is very fast, within a few months the cancer grows enormously with a tendency to distant metastasis.

Inflammatory breast cancer - symptoms

Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancerare not specific and may accompany other processes in the breast. It certainly does not make it easier to recognize. Patients suffering from this form of cancer most often complain of:

  • redness of the breast, which is an indicator of inflammation
  • swelling of the nipple, i.e. an increase in the size of the breast, which reflects the rapid growth of the tumor
  • excessive heat of the skin over the tumor location
  • palpation of the mammary gland
  • changes in the nipple in the form of retraction
  • symptom of "orange peel", which consists in the appearance of thickened, wrinkled, sometimes dark orange skin with numerous depressions on its surface. This symptom results from an excessive amount of lymph within the breast skin
  • enlargement of adjacent lymph nodes
  • ailments strictly related to the location of distant metastases

Of course, full-blown breast inflammation with redness, excessive heat in the area and swelling does not always mean the development of a neoplastic process. Much more often it is a manifestation of a breast abscess. But any symptom that causes concern should be consulted quickly by a doctor.

Breast inflammatory cancer diagnosis

Inflammatory breast canceris relatively difficult to diagnose , possibly due to the absence ofpalpable pathological formation in the breast, and clinical symptoms suggest inflammation of the breast gland rather than cancer of this organ. However, there are features of the tumor that may lead to the correct diagnosis. They include: no lump in the breast with local reddening of the skin, its swelling and excessive heat, lasting longer than 6 months. It is worth emphasizing that the erythema of the breast covers up to 1/3 of its surface. The following imaging tests should be performed in order to detect inflammatory breast cancer:

  • mammography
  • ultrasound of the breast and surrounding lymph nodes
  • PET or CT examination to locate possible metastases.

Treatment of inflammatory breast cancer

There are several treatment options for inflammatory breast cancer, in many cases it is necessary to combine treatment, which is a combination of several available methods, in order to obtain the best possible effectiveness.

  • Neoadjuvant chemotherapy- is usually the first element of therapeutic treatment, the task of which is to reduce the cancer cells that build the neoplastic focus, which will allow for surgical removal of the lesion. This usually comes down to cycles of chemotherapy spread over a period of 6 months.
  • Surgical removal of the tumor- that is, radical removal of the lesion, along with the margin of the glandular tissue of the breast, as well as the surrounding lymph nodes. Usually, it is not necessary to remove the pectoralis minor at the same time, but it may be necessary when the cancerous cell infiltrates the muscle cells.
  • Radiotherapy- usually practiced after surgery. The main area exposed to the radiation is the bed of the removed tumor focus to completely destroy any cells that may have remained in this place.
  • Palliative treatment- reserved for a group of patients in whom the cancer process was diagnosed too late. Too much advancement of the disease does not allow for effective treatment. Therefore, "treatment" in such situations comes down only to improving the quality of life of patients.

The prognosis of inflammatory breast cancer depends on several factors, including on the location of the tumor, age of the patient, stage of advancement at the time of diagnosis, response to the treatment or the presence of comorbidities. However, the prognosis is generally not good.

Category:

Oncology