MANAGEMENT OF INFLAMMATORY BREAST-CANCER

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but often fatal disease. Th is review discusses the following conclusions: (1) The diagnosis of IB C is based on the clinical triad of erythema, ridging with peau d'oran ge, and rapid onset. The importance of histologic evidence of dermal l ymphatic involvement is controversial. (2) Combining doxorubicin-conta ining chemotherapy with mastectomy or radiation therapy improves survi val over that achieved with mastectomy or irradiation alone. (3) Maste ctomy after induction chemotherapy may not improve survival or decreas e locoregional recurrence rates, but the surgery does provide importan t prognostic information on treatment response and enables use of a lo wer radiation dose afterward, which results in reduced long-term compl ications. (4) The optimal number of cycles and dose intensity of chemo therapy for IBC remain undefined.