Inflammatory breast cancer: what progress have we made?

Abstract

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive subtype of locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). Its diagnosis is primarily clinical; however, a pathological confirmation of invasive cancer is required. Historically, IBC was a uniformly fatal disease. A major advance in the last three decades has been the introduction of a multidisciplinary approach to the management of this aggressive disease, incorporating pre-operative chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy; this approach has significantly improved survival. Our review focuses on the progress made in the field of IBC research over the last decade, with particular attention to advances in the areas of epidemiology, molecular biology, arid clinical management.