Patient education: Inflammatory breast cancer (The Basics)

What is inflammatory breast cancer? — Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and rapidly growing form of breast cancer. It makes the breast look red and swollen. The skin can also have pits or dimples. These can make the skin look like the skin on an orange.

Breast cancer happens when normal cells in the breast change and grow out of control. In a person with IBC, this can happen very quickly.

IBC is a serious form of breast cancer. It gets worse quickly. It can spread easily to other parts of the body. A person with IBC should get treatment right away.

What are the symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer? — Symptoms of IBC are different from other forms of breast cancer. For example, it might not cause a lump in the breast.

Symptoms of IBC include:

●Skin changes. These can include:

•Skin that feels warm or hot

•Color changes – Skin looks pink, red, or purple.

•Thicker skin

•Dimples or pits on the skin – This can look like the skin on an orange.

●Nipple changes. These can include:

•Flat nipple

•Nipple that turns red

•A crust or blister on the nipple

•Nipple that points in (if it pointed out before)

●Painful, swollen breast

Having these symptoms does not necessarily mean you have IBC. Other conditions, including infection and other types of breast cancer, can cause similar symptoms.

Should I see a doctor or nurse? — See your doctor or nurse right away if you have any of the symptoms above.

Is there a test for inflammatory breast cancer? — Yes. The doctor or nurse will order a special kind of X-ray called a "mammogram." This is a test for breast cancer. It is done on both breasts.

The doctor or nurse will do an exam and learn about your symptoms. This can help find IBC. It can also show if something else, such as an infection, is causing the symptoms. Your doctor might prescribe antibiotics as a first step. If your breast symptoms don't improve with the antibiotics, there is a higher chance that cancer could be causing your symptoms.

If your doctor thinks you might have IBC, you will probably have another test called a "biopsy." During a biopsy, a doctor takes 1 or more small samples of tissue. These samples can be from:

●The breast

●The skin on the breast

●The lymph nodes – These are small, bean-shaped organs that are part of the body's infection-fighting system.

A biopsy will confirm whether or not you have IBC. If you have IBC, the doctor might order imaging tests to see if the cancer has spread. These imaging tests might be a CT, bone scan, or other imaging tests. Imaging tests create detailed pictures of the inside of the body.

How is inflammatory breast cancer treated? — Most people with IBC have the following treatments:

●Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy is the medical term for medicines that kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. If a person has IBC, doctors give these medicines before surgery or radiation therapy. The medicines can shrink the cancer. If the medicines shrink the cancer enough, the person is usually treated with surgery to remove the breast (called a "mastectomy") and the lymph nodes under the arm. If the medicines do not shrink the cancer enough, the next steps might include other kinds of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, then followed by an operation.

●Mastectomy – Mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast. A "modified radical mastectomy" also removes lymph nodes. This type of surgery is typically done if the cancer has not traveled to other parts of the body and helps doctors take out as much cancer as possible.

●Radiation therapy – Radiation kills cancer cells. Most people with IBC have radiation after chemotherapy and surgery. Sometimes, if there was not a good response to the chemotherapy, radiation is done before the operation.

Some forms of breast cancer grow in response to hormones. The doctor might also give you treatments to block hormones or prevent your body from making them. Also, some types of breast cancer make too much of a certain protein called "HER2." These cancers are also treated with drugs that block the action of HER2.

What happens after treatment? — After treatment, you need to be checked as often as the doctor says. IBC often comes back after treatment. The doctor will check to see if it comes back.

More on this topic

Patient education: Breast cancer (The Basics)
Patient education: Common breast problems (The Basics)

Patient education: Locally advanced and inflammatory breast cancer (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Breast cancer guide to diagnosis and treatment (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Common breast problems (Beyond the Basics)