Inflammatory breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. Worldwide,it is the most common form of cancer in females, affecting approximately 10% of all women at some stage of their life in the Western world. Although significant efforts are made to achieve early detection and effective treatment, about 20% of all women with breast cancer will die from the disease, and it is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women. more...

Epidemiology

Age

The risk of getting breast cancer increases with age. For a woman who lives to the age of 90 the chances of getting breast cancer her entire lifetime is about 12.5% or 1 in 8. Men can also develop breast cancer, but their risk is less than 1 in 1000 (see sex and illness). This risk is modified by many different factors. In a very small (~ 5%) proportion of breast cancer cases, there is a strong inherited familial risk. Some racial groups have a higher risk of developing breast cancer - notably, women of European and African descent have been noted to have a higher rate of breast cancer than women of Asian origin. (figures from breastcancer.org) However, these apparent racial differences diminish when geography is altered, as Asian women migrating to the western world, gradually acquire risk approaching that of western women.

The probability of breast cancer rises with age but breast cancer tends to be more aggressive when it occurs in younger women. One type of breast cancer that is especially aggressive and disproportionately occurs in younger women is inflammatory breast cancer. It is initially staged as Stage IIIb or Stage IV. It also is unique because it often does not present with a lump so that it often is not detected by mammography or ultrasound. It presents with the signs and symptoms of a breast infection like mastitis.

Genes

Two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, have been linked to the rare familial form of breast cancer. Women in families expressing mutations in these genes have a much higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who do not. Not all people who inherit mutations in these genes will develop breast cancer. Together with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (p53 mutations), these genetic aberrations determine around 5% of all breast cancer cases, suggesting that the remainder is sporadic. Genetic counseling and genetic testing should be considered for families who may carry a hereditary form of cancer.

Alcohol

Alcohol is another risk factor for the development of breast cancer. Women who drink half a glass of wine every day have 6% increased risk of developing breast cancer where as women who drink two drinks or more daily may have 37% increased chance of developing breast cancer. 1

Hormones

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France invited 21 scientist from 8 countries in June 2005, to evaluate the risk of cancer for humans of combined estrogen-progestogen contraceptives and combined estrogen-progestogen menopausal therapy. The working group found that there is a small increase in the relative risk of breast cancer in current and recent users of combined oral contraceptives.

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