Does nonmetastatic inflammatory breast cancer have a worse prognosis than other nonmetastatic T4 cancers?
- 11 October 2018
- Vol. 124 (22), 4314-4321
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.31757
Abstract
Background Both patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IFLBC) and patients with noninflammatory T4 breast cancer (non‐IFLBC) have a heavy disease burden in the breast; whether the unique biology of IFLBC conveys a higher locoregional recurrence (LRR) risk and worse outcomes in comparison with other T4 lesions is uncertain. Here the outcomes of patients with IFLBC and patients with non‐IFLBC treated with modern multimodality therapy are compared. Methods Patients with nonmetastatic T4 breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, mastectomy, and radiation therapy between 2006 and 2016 were identified. Recurrences and survival were compared between patients with IFLBC and patients with non‐IFLBC overall and stratified by receptor subtype. Results For 199 T4 patients, the median age was 52 years, and the median clinical tumor size was 7 cm. One hundred seventeen (59%) had IFLBC. With a median follow‐up of 41 months, 4 patients had isolated LRR; all cases occurred in patients with IFLBC. The 5‐year isolated LRR rate for patients with IFLBC was 4.8%. Overall, 14 patients had both LRR and distant recurrence (DR); 47 had DR only. The 5‐year distant recurrence–free survival (DRFS) rates were similar for patients with IFLBC and patients with non‐IFLBC (63% vs 71%; log‐rank P = .14). The 5‐year DRFS rate was lowest among triple‐negative (TN) patients (43%) and was significantly lower for patients with TN IFLBC versus patients with non‐IFLBC (28% vs 62%; log‐rank P = .02). The 5‐year overall survival rates (71% vs 74%; log‐rank P = .4) and cancer‐specific survival rates (74% vs 79%; log‐rank P = .23) did not differ between IFLBC and non‐IFLBC. Conclusions Although IFLBC is often considered a unique biologic subtype, patients with IFLBC and patients with non‐IFLBC had similar outcomes with modern multimodality therapy; isolated LRR was uncommon. The TN subtype in patients with IFLBC is associated with poor outcomes, and this indicates the need for new treatment approaches in this group.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Institutes of Health (P30 CA008748)
This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit:
- Inflammatory breast cancer in the Netherlands; improved survival over the last decadesBreast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2017
- Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Patterns of Failure and the Case for Aggressive Locoregional ManagementAnnals of Surgical Oncology, 2015
- Pathological complete response and long-term clinical benefit in breast cancer: the CTNeoBC pooled analysisThe Lancet, 2014
- Triple-Negative Subtype Predicts Poor Overall Survival and High Locoregional Relapse in Inflammatory Breast CancerThe Oncologist, 2011
- Differences in survival among women with stage III inflammatory and noninflammatory locally advanced breast cancer appear earlyCancer, 2010
- International expert panel on inflammatory breast cancer: consensus statement for standardized diagnosis and treatmentAnnals of Oncology, 2010
- Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and patterns of recurrenceCancer, 2007
- Trends in Inflammatory Breast Carcinoma Incidence and Survival: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program at the National Cancer InstituteJNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2005
- Combined-modality treatment of inflammatory breast carcinoma: twenty years of experience at M. D. Anderson Cancer CenterCancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, 1997
- Inflammatory cancer of the breast: Analysis of 114 casesJournal of Surgical Oncology, 1981