TAMOXIFEN FOR THE TREATMENT OF METASTATIC INFLAMMATORY BREAST-CARCINOMA

In this series, 65 patients with metastatic inflammatory breast carcin oma were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by local regio nal treatment followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. All of these selected patients developed further metastatic disease and were treated at tha t time with tamoxifen alone. Measurements of hormone receptor levels w ere available for 46 patients. Four tumors were positive estrogen rece ptors and eight tumors were positive progesterone receptors. The objec tive response rate for tamoxifen therapy was 5% (3/65). No major side effects were observed. When the metastasis-free interval was over 19 m onths, the overall survival and after metastases survival rates were s ignificantly increased. Our conclusion is that tamoxifen should not pl ay any role in the palliative treatment of metastases in inflammatory breast carcinoma.