There are some symptoms and risk factors associated with this rare and aggressive type of breast cancer.

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare and aggressive type of breast cancer that has spread to the surface of the breast. IBC accounts for 1% to 5% of all cases of breast cancer.

Because the cancer cells have infiltrated the skin, medical doctors diagnose IBC in late stages, including stages 3 and 4. In stage 3, medical practitioners can successfully treat IBC. In contrast, IBC cannot be cured in stage 4 because the cancer has invaded the distant organs. In this case, the goal of treatment is to extend the survival period and alleviate the symptoms.

Perhaps, one of the most characteristic signs of other breast cancer, a lump, isn’t usual in IBC. On the contrary, you’d experience the following:

•  Redness

•  The inflammation

•  Dimpling (if the texture of the skin of the breast resembles an orange peel)

Due to similar symptoms, medical professionals often confuse IBC with other skin conditions including cellulitis or mastitis. To effectively avoid, identify, and treat this rare form of breast cancer, you should know the early warning signs and symptoms of IBC.

What Causes Inflammatory Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer occurs when changes in your genetic material, DNA, cause cells in the breast tissue to grow out of control.

Like all cancers, breast cancer is related to both genetic and epigenetic abnormalities. You may inherit genetic mutations, such as a BRCA mutation. In contrast, epigenetic factors are behavioral and environmental influences on how your genes work.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What is epigenetics?.

• Also, some lifestyle and environmental factors can contribute, such as:5

• Drinking alcohol

• Having an early period

Some research has discovered specific risk factors for IBC. Yet researchers have not yet discovered a cause of why people come down with IBC. Family history could have less influence in IBC compared to other cancers, breast cancer. According to research done by 2016 published in BMC Cancer

Risk Factors

In general, risk factors for breast cancer include:

• Being female

• Drinking alcohol

• Having previous radiation therapy to the chest or breast

• Getting your period at an earlier age than average

IBC has some unique risk factors compared to other forms of breast cancer. For instance, people tend to develop IBC at a younger age than other forms of breast cancer. Also, most people diagnosed with IBC have dense breast tissue, which makes diagnosis more difficult than usual.

According to a study published in 2017 in the Journal of Cancer, individuals who have had a history of breastfeeding following childbirth might have less aggressive IBC than others.

Symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer

IBC is described as a “bug bite” or “heat rash” that quickly develops to involve at least one-third of the breast tissue. Indeed, some clinicians may misdiagnose IBC as an infection of the skin or allergic reaction.

In addition to swelling and redness, IBS symptoms include:

• Skin that becomes thickened and begins to pucker to resemble an orange peel

• One-sided change in breast size and weight

• A nipple that turns inward or retracts

• Warm, painful, sore, or itchy breast

Swollen lymph nodes in the armpit or near the collarbone may also be a sign of breast cancer.

IBC symptoms appear within three to six months,10 which is less than the time the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends between preventive breast mammogram screenings. So, IBC is harder to catch early than normal.

IBC symptoms, such as swelling and redness, can be caused by diseases or conditions much less serious than IBC. So, consulting a healthcare provider if you experience those symptoms is key.

How Is Inflammatory Breast Cancer Diagnosed?

Healthcare providers diagnose IBC through the following procedures.

• Ordering a mammogram

• Follow-up with ultrasound of the breast and the lymph nodes in the vicinity

• Ordering a biopsy to ascertain the diagnosis, if it is required

• More tests like PET, CT, or bone scans to determine the extent of spread of cancer

Early diagnosis of IBC is very important. However, diagnosis of IBC can be difficult. A mammogram is not likely to find IBC as it occurs without the formation of a lump. Additionally, in most individuals with IBC, the breast tissue is dense.

With IBC, signs like redness, swelling, dimpling, and abnormal warmth typically occur rapidly. They must last less than six months, and the redness must involve at least one-third of the breast

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Treatment

Chemotherapy is usually the first step in the treatment of IBC. Among the medications used in chemotherapy are those that medical professionals provide intravenously. You can also take those medications orally. The medications kill cancer cells all over the body.

• Chemotherapy side effects frequently include:

• Loss of hair

• Sores in the mouth

• Weariness

• Having diarrhea

• Appetite loss

• Changes in weight

• Flashes of heat

Chemotherapy can impact bone marrow cells since it targets cells across the body. Chemotherapy patients may experience easier bleeding or bruises and a higher risk of infection than usual.

However, IBC is aggressive. Therefore, in addition to chemotherapy, health care providers often combine different treatments, which may include:

National Cancer Institute. Inflammatory breast cancer.

• Surgery: Because the cancer is in the skin, health care providers typically perform a radical mastectomy. That surgery removes the whole breast and nearby lymph nodes. Another surgery may rebuild the breast. However, a health care provider may advise delaying that procedure if you need radiation therapy.

• Radiation therapy: Usually, after surgery, the healthcare providers administer radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays or particles to kill cancer cells. Healthcare providers may also use radiation therapy and a new round of chemotherapy before surgery if the original round did not completely reduce redness.

• Hormone therapy: This hormone therapy aims to suppress the growth of cancer cells containing estrogen receptors. For instance, tamoxifen is a medication that prevents estrogen from binding to those receptors. On the other hand, letrozole is another drug that prevents the body from producing estrogen.

• Other drug therapies, including targeted agents: In some cases of IBC, the body produces more HER2 than it should. Targeted agents, including Herceptin (trastuzumab), may be used to treat that type of IBC.

• Clinical trials: Current clinical trials are trying to find other possible treatments for IBC. Participants can search for their condition in the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) database of clinical trials.

How To Prevent Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Although it is impossible to prevent IBC, early diagnosis is crucial in treating the cancer.

Generally, some steps you can take to reduce your risk of breast cancer include:

• Maintaining a healthy weight

• Regularly exercising

• Moderating your alcohol consumption

• If you have given birth, breastfeeding for several months

Also, if you are at a high risk of having breast cancer due to genetic mutations or family history and other lifestyle factors, then you can take other steps for prevention. Those can include the following:

• Paying close attention to symptoms

• Having medical checkups every six to 12 months

• Beginning annual mammograms and breast MRIs as early as 30

• In some cases, using drugs like Nolvadex (tamoxifen), Evista (raloxifene), or aromatase inhibitors

• Having surgery to remove the breasts or ovaries

However, those depend on your risk of having IBC or other kinds of breast cancer. Thus, it is essential to discuss your risk and options with a healthcare provider.

Getting an IBC diagnosis can be scary, but treatments are improving. Researchers are also looking into more risk factors. Pay attention to your body, and speak to a healthcare provider if you feel something is off.