Inflammatory breast cancer

Abstract

Inflammatory breast cancer (IMK) is characterized by breast skin involvement and it is the most aggressive form of breast cancers. IMK constitutes 1-6% of all breast cancers. It appears at early ages than noninflammatory breast cancer. Erythema, "peau d'orange'', rapid progression, poor prognosis, dermal lymphatic infiltration by cancer cells are the clinicopathological findings of the tumor. In the management of IMK, multimodel approach becomes very important. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is the cornerstone of the treatment because of the systemic features of the disease. However the response rates increase by anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens, the average survival is still around 2.9 years. The standard regimen in patients with Her2/neu positive is trastuzumab but can develop resistance over time to it. Preliminary results of the studies with panitumomab and lapatinib are positive. In this review, we have determined the general approach to IMK because of the lack of standard treatment and rarity of the disease.