Inflammatory carcinoma of the breast

Eighty-six patients with the clinical features of inflammatory carcinoma of the breast (erythema, peau d'orange, wheals or ridges) were treated with irradiation for potential cure between July 1948 and December 1970. Long protracted irradiation alone with a strong skin reaction offers 50% local control, which is the best rate yet reported. Any surgical procedure beyond biopsy is probably damaging: all patients subjected to mastectomy developed distant metastases and died. Ninety per cent of the patients were dead by five years and only 3 patients remain alive without evidence of disease 7, 10 and 14 years after radiotherapy. Analysis of survival rates, incidence, sites and times of appearance of local recurrences, and distant metastases is presented.