Rare form of breast cancer is also more dangerous

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Inflammatory breast carcinoma accounts for around two per cent of all cases and has a poorer survival rate, according to a new study.
Not much is known about inflammatory breast carcinoma (IBC) a form of breast cancer characterised by redness, warmth, swelling but often without an obvious tumor. Researchers at the US National Cancer Institute now report on a survey of over 180,000 breast cancer cases diagnosed between 1988 and 2000.

IBC accounted for about two per cent of cases and women diagnosed with it tended to be younger and have a poorer survival rate than women with more common forms of breast cancer. What is more, IBC seems to be on the increase - from two cases per 100,000 women in 1988 to 2.5 cases per 100,000 in 1999. Black women have a higher incidence of IBC than white women. More needs to be learned on what causes IBC and how it can best be treated to improve its relatively poor survival rate.

Source
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 6th July 2005 Volume 97 pages 966-975