Inflammatory cancer of the breast: analysis of 114 cases

One hundred and fourteen cases of inflammatory breast cancer were reviewed. Actuarial survival curves, independent of the stage and type of treatment, showed a median survival of less than 15 months. As regards the three different subgroups of 80, 14, and 20 women, N0-1-2M0, N3M1 respectively, the acutuarial survival curves showed figures of median survival that decreased from 14 to 4 months, according to the extent of the disease. Survival rates for the subgroups of patients treated by radical mastectomy, radical mastectomy followed by radiotherapy, and radiotherapy alone were not significantly different. Neither the more sophisticated therapeutic approaches intended to modify the hormonal medium of the patients, nor the combined chemotherapy plus radiotherapy, proved to be successful. Inflmmatory breast cancer should be considered a systemic disease; consequently, in spite of discouraging results, only a systemic therapeutic approach, consisting of aggressive combination chemotherapy and perhaps immunostimulation, seems worthwhile.