ABSTRACT

Infl ammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a less common type of breast cancer which usually presents with signs and symptoms that more closely resemble a breast infection like mastitis. It is diagnosed based on clinical signs of a rapidly enlarging, tender, erythematous, edematous breast that often presents without an underlying breast mass. The clinical presentation of IBC is due to tumor emboli within dermal lymphatic vessels. IBC is a distinct clinicopathologic entity separate from noninfl ammatory locally advanced breast carcinoma. IBC have a poor prognosis.

Treatment for this aggressive form of breast cancer is multi-modal, and includes chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy. Preoperative chemotherapy is of great importance in the treatment of IBC. Surgery and radiotherapy should be delivered for local control after getting fair remission with neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Although local control rates for patients with IBC have dramatically improved over the last two decades, controversy stil exists as to the treatment regimen necessary to best provide optimal local control.

We analyzed the relevant literature in this article to designate the role and eff ectiveness of surgical treatment for local control in patient with IBC.