Dermoscopy of inflammatory breast cancer

Abstract: Inflammatory breast cancer is an aggressive and infiltrative malignancy that is often misdiagnosed as an infection because of its symptoms and signs of inflammation, delaying proper diagnosis and treatment. We report a case of inflammatory breast cancer showing correlation between dermoscopic and histopathological diagnoses. We highlight the utility of dermoscopy for skin biopsy site selection.

Distinct outcomes in patients with different molecular subtypes of inflammatory breast cancer

To determine the outcome of patients with luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 [HER-2] positive, and triple negative molecular subtypes of inflammatory breast cancer [IBC] using a retrospective analysis. This study was conducted between February 2004 and February 2010 in 3 different hospitals in China. The clinical outcomes, pathological features, and treatment strategies were analyzed in 67 cases of IBC without distant metastases. A chi-square test and one-way ANOVA were used to assess outcomes between different subtypes. Overall survival [OS] was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate analysis was conducted using the Cox regression model. The 2-year OS rate was 55% for the entire cohort. Median OS time among patients with luminal A was 35 months, luminal B was 30 months, HER-2 positive was 24 months, and triple negative subtypes was 20 months, and were significantly different from each other [p=0.001]. Using multivariate analysis, luminal A had 76% [p=0.037], luminal B had 54% [p=0.048], and HER-2 positive subtypes had 47% [p=0.032] decreased risk of death compared with the triple negative subtype. Furthermore, elevated Ki-67 labeling was associated with increased risk of death, while the surgical treatment significantly improved patient survival. Breast cancer subtypes are associated with distinct outcomes in IBC patients. Patients that presented with triple negative IBC had poorer outcome than luminal A, luminal B, and HER-2 subtypes. These results indicate that IBC is a heterogeneous disease similar to the conventional breast cancer

Inflammatory breast neoplasms: a systematic review

OVERVIEW: Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a rare and very aggressive type of cancer that tends to develop at a younger age, compared with other subtypes of breast cancer. Because a distinct lump may not be noticeable, correct diagnosis takes longer and, therefore, successful treatment may hinder a patient's prognostics. This study aims to conduct a systematic review of research articles on IBC. METHODS: This is a systematic review of studies in the PubMed database to April 2013, which fit the eligibility criterion of "Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms" (MeSH Terms), filtered by Languages (English OR Portuguese OR Spanish). FINDINGS: Of the 119studies identified, 25 complied with the eligibility criterion for the disease, diagnostics, treatment and prognostics. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: Despite methodological differences, findings evidence that although IBC presents particular features (lower survival rate and worse prognostics than most types of breast cancer), very few studies examine its epidemiology and specific risk factors in depth and use any other therapeutic approaches than those commonly used for other breast cancer subtypes. Therefore, further investigation of the disease's aggressiveness is still necessary.

Cáncer de mama inflamatorio / Breast cancer intrainflamatorio

El cáncer de mama inflamatorio es una patología poco frecuente, sin embargo, su importancia radica en la agresividad de su evolución. A nivel nacional no existe estadística certera respecto al porcentaje del cáncer inflamatorio de mama como tal. En el Hospital Base de Valdivia, constituye el 3,3 por ciento de los carcinomas mamarios invasores según una revisión de los últimos 3 años. El diagnóstico de esta patología está basado en la sospecha clínica, en pacientes que presenten eritema, edema, piel de naranja, nódulos y/o induración mamaria. La histopatología del tumor primario y de la piel permite la confirmación diagnóstica. En cuanto al tratamiento, en la actualidad existe consenso de que las pacientes deben ser sometidas a un tratamiento multimodal, éste consiste en quimioterapia neoadyuvante, para luego efectuar la terapia locorregional. Lo particular de este tipo de cáncer, es que posee características biológicas intrínsecas de rápida progresión y alto poder de diseminación, lo que le confiere un mal pronóstico.

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare disease, but its importance lies in the aggressiveness of its evolution. At the national level there is no accurate statistics on the percentage of inflammatory breast cancer as such. In the Base Hospital of Valdivia, constitute 3.3 percent of invasive breast carcinomas according to a review of the past 3 years. The diagnosis of this disease is based on clinical suspicion in patients presenting with erythema, edema, cellulitis, nodules, and / or breast induration. The histopathology of the primary tumor and skin allows diagnostic confirmation. As for treatment, there is now consensus that patients should be subjected to a multimodal treatment, starting with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and then perform locoregional therapy. The particularity of this type of cancer is that it has intrinsic biological characteristics of rapid progression and high power spread, which gives a poor prognosis.