What is Inflammatory Breast Cancer?
Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare but very aggressive type of breast cancer in which the cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast. This type of breast cancer is called inflammatory because the breast often looks swollen and red, or inflamed. IBC accounts for 1 to 5 percent of all breast cancer cases in the United States. It tends to be diagnosed in younger women compared to non-IBC breast cancer. It occurs more frequently and at a younger age in African Americans than in Whites. Like other types of breast cancer, IBC can occur in men, but usually at an older age than in women. Some studies have shown an association between family history of breast cancer and IBC, but more studies are needed to draw firm conclusions.
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), the most aggressive form of breast cancer, afflicts less than 6 percent of all women diagnosed, and it looks and acts differently from other forms of breast cancer. The first signs of IBC are usually visual: the breast becomes red, swollen, warm, and looks infected. In some instances, the skin around the breast will begin to pucker or to develop dimples like the skin of an orange and the nipple will retract and lay flat against the breast. Swollen lymph nodes under the arm or above the collarbone are another symptom of IBC. Because these symptoms are similar to those of a breast infection called mastitis, doctors will first try to treat the signs of infection with antibiotics. If the antibiotics don’t cure the infection within a week, the doctor will then do a punch biopsy of the skin to see if cancer cells are present. Because mastitis is much more common than IBC, it would not make sense to biopsy all women who have a red breast or swollen lymph node
Inflammatory breast cancer is a type of breast cancer in which the breast looks red and swollen, and feels warm. The skin of the breast may also show the pitted appearance called peau d’orange (like the skin of an orange). The redness and warmth occur because the cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin. Symptoms can also include a lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area, a change in the size or shape of the breast, nipple discharge or tenderness, or the nipple pulled back (inversion) into the breast. return to top Mammograms and Other Breast Imaging Procedures Learn the latest details from the American Cancer Society about Mammograms, MRI’s (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), Breast Ultrasound (also known as sonography), Ductograms, and newer, even experiemental methods!
