Inflammatory breast cancer or IBC is a very rare type of cancer observed in patients. It is also sometimes referred to as stage 3B or stage 4 breast cancer. In this type of cancer, the breast of the patient appears red and swollen or inflamed. It is an aggressive type of tumor, where the cancer cells around the breast, block the lymph nodes surrounding the skin. This type of cancer can occur in men also, but is mostly spotted in the younger women. It is diagnosed by studying the MRI, mammogram, biopsy or breast ultrasound reports of the patient.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer can be treated using either a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is the first choice of most of the doctors for the treatment of IBC. The treatment for this type of cancer is different from the any other breast cancer like the HER2 positive breast cancer, or stage 2 breast cancer.

Chemotherapy for Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Chemotherapy is given before surgery, to shrink the cancer cells present in the patient’s body. Taxanes and anthracyclines are the commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of inflammatory breast cancer. Sometimes, a combination of different drug forms is prescribed to the women. Some of them are: EC (epirubicin and cyclophosphamide), TAC chemotherapy (docetaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide), ACT (doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel or docetaxel), CAF or FAC chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil), CEF or FEC chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, epirubicin and 5-fluorouracil) and AC (doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide). Sometimes, the patients may be suggested to undergo surgery or sessions of radiation therapy after the cycles of chemotherapy are over.

Surgery for Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Surgery is rarely performed for the treatment of IBC, as the chances of reoccurrence of breast cancer are high, after surgery. If the cancer cells have not spread beyond the breast, then mastectomy or removal of the breast tissue is performed. Sometimes, an additional lymph node dissection is also performed to remove the tumor cells from the body. However, IBC grows in the lymph nodes of the skin, and after mastectomy, the skin of the breast is stitched back, hence there are chances that the inflammatory breast cancer might recur after surgery. Lumpectomy, removal of a specific portion of the breast, is not performed in case of the patients suffering from inflammatory breast cancer.

Radiation Therapy for Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Radiation therapy is mostly given to the patients to kill the remaining cancer cells and to prevent their reoccurrence after chemotherapy or surgery. It is also sometimes given before surgery, to shrink these cells. It is normally given once every week, for 6 weeks while in severe cases it is given twice.

These were a few options of treatment for inflammatory breast cancer. Other options of treatment for breast cancer, like targeted and hormonal therapies, are also being tested as an attempt to search for the effective way for the treatment of inflammatory breast cancer.

Note: The list of drugs given above should be taken only under proper guidance of a certified cancer specialist.