Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare, fast-growing, and aggressive type of breast cancer that blocks the lymph vessels in the breast, causing inflammation.

Unlike other breast cancers, this type of cancer may not cause a lump in the breast, so screening mammograms often fail to catch it early.

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On this page

• What Is Inflammatory Breast Cancer? 
• What Are the Symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer? 
• How Do You Diagnose Inflammatory Breast Cancer?
• How Do You Treat Inflammatory Breast Cancer?

What Is Inflammatory Breast Cancer?  

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive breast cancer that grows and spreads very quickly.

Inflammatory breast cancer blocks the lymph vessels that keep lymph fluid moving in the breast, causing inflammation. Instead of a lump, most people notice reddening and swelling of the breast that seems to rapidly intensify. 

Since IBC doesn't always cause a lump in the breast, it may not be caught early through screening mammograms. By the time it's diagnosed, IBC may have already metastasized (spread) to distant parts of the body. This makes treatment more difficult, and is why IBC contributes to 7% of breast cancer-caused mortality despite its low incidence rate.

IBC may be mistaken for:

• Mastitis — An infection that can accompany breastfeeding.
• Cellulitis — A bacterial infection.

How common is inflammatory breast cancer?

IBC accounts for only about 1% to 5% of breast cancer cases in women and almost none in men. 

What are the stages of inflammatory breast cancer?

After diagnosis, breast cancer is staged between zero to four.

When it’s first diagnosed, IBC is always at least Stage 3 cancer. This is because it's locally advanced, meaning that breast cancer cells have already grown into the skin but have yet to spread outside of the breast.

Inflammatory breast cancer is considered Stage 4 if it has spread outside the breast to distant parts of the body.

What are inflammatory breast cancer risk factors and complications?  

Inflammatory breast cancer risk factors  

Anybody can develop inflammatory breast cancer, but certain factors may increase your risk.

Risk factors for IBC include: 

• Breastfeeding.
• Chronic inflammation.
• Ethnicity. IBC is more prevalent among Black people.
• Giving birth at a young age.
• High body mass index (BMI). IBC occurs more frequently in people who are overweight or obese.
• Viral infections.
• Smoking.
• Age. IBC tends to occur in younger people (age 40 or younger).

Inflammatory breast cancer complications

The most common complications of inflammatory breast cancer include:

• Abdominal discomfort, nausea, and vomiting.
• Arrhythmias.
• Behavioral changes.
• Jaundice.
• Kidney stones.
• Liver lesions.
• Loss of appetite or weight loss.
• Neurological conditions, including confusion, coma, and memory lapses.
• Severe pain, including bone and nerve pain.
• Stress.
• Vision problems.
• Worsening headaches.

IBC treatments can cause complications, too, such as:

• Changed cosmetic appearance.
• Diarrhea.
• Infection.
• Lymphedema.
• Nausea.
• Oral ulcers.
• Poor healing.
• Severe pain and scarring.

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What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer?

Inflammatory breast cancer doesn't often cause lumps in the breast.

With IBC, cancer cells block the normal flow of lymph fluid, which can make the breast look swollen and red and feel warm, as if it were infected. The swelling may cause lots of tiny dimples in the skin. Sometimes, it does cause a lump that grows quickly, but you can have IBC without having a lump in your breast.

Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include:

• A breast that feels warmer or heavier than the other.
• A breast that's tender or painful.
• A change in the skin, especially an area that looks thick and pitted, like an orange peel. Sometimes, there are small bumps that look like a rash or hives.
• A red or swollen breast or areola (the dark circle of skin around the nipple).
• A retracted or inverted nipple. Sometimes, the nipple pulls back into the breast instead of pointing outward.
• An area of the breast that looks bruised.
• An area of itching in the breast.
• Edema (swelling), a change in the size or shape of a breast, or a breast that appears larger than the other.
• Swollen lymph nodes (glands) in the armpit or near the collarbone.

Most symptoms begin within three to six months of the onset of IBC.

When should I see a doctor about my IBC symptoms?

If you notice any of the common symptoms for IBC, make an appointment to see your doctor.

Having IBC symptoms doesn't mean you have IBC. The symptoms of IBC often mimic symptoms of other health conditions, such as mastitis and cellulitis. However, mastitis and cellulitis usually cause fevers, but fever isn't a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer. 

Your doctor may prescribe you a round of antibiotics as a first line of treatment, since mastitis is usually treated with antibiotics. If you're prescribed antibiotics and your symptoms don't seem to be getting better or if the affected area gets larger, call your doctor and ask about IBC.

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How Do You Diagnose Inflammatory Breast Cancer?  

It's important to diagnose inflammatory breast cancer quickly so that treatment can start right away.

If your doctor suspects you have inflammatory breast cancer, they'll run tests, like a mammogram or biopsy.

Tests to diagnose inflammatory breast cancer

There are many tests and procedures to diagnose and screen for breast cancer, including:

• MRI— This imaging technique uses a computer, a magnetic field, and radio waves to produce images of the body’s soft tissues.
• Mammogram with computer-aided detection (CAD) — This imaging procedure uses low-energy x-rays to screen for or detect abnormalities or cancer in the breast. A digital mammogram uses a phosphor plate, rather than film, to view mammography images. CAD is software that highlights tissue abnormalities in a mammogram. 
• 3D mammogram (tomosynthesis) — This imaging tool uses low-energy x-rays to create a 3D image of the breasts.
• Minimally invasive breast biopsy — A needle extracts a tissue sample from the breast to test for cancer cells.
• Sentinel lymph node biopsy — This minimally invasive procedure removes lymph node tissue in the armpit to check if existing breast cancer is metastasizing (spreading). Most people diagnosed with an invasive breast cancer typically undergo a sentinel lymph node biopsy.
• Ultrasound (sonography) — This noninvasive test uses high-frequency sound waves to produce real-time pictures of tumors.

If cancer is found, you'll have more tests to see if the cancer has spread. Cancer cells from the biopsy will be tested to find out more about the cancer.

Tests can show if the cancer cells have receptors for hormones such as estrogen or progesterone. This information helps your doctor know which medications will work best for you. Many doctors will also take a picture of your breasts to record the amount of redness or swelling before treatment.

Survival rates for inflammatory breast cancer

People with IBC tend to have a worse prognosis (outcome) than people with other common types of breast cancer, and the survival rates are generally not as high.

Understanding what's meant by a survival rate can be tricky. These numbers are based on the percentage of people with IBC who are still alive after a period of five years. They can give you an idea of how likely it is that your treatment will be successful. 

It's important to remember that these numbers are based on the outcomes of a large group of people. So, they can't be used to predict the outcome of your specific case. 

A relative survival rate compares the survival rate of people with IBC to the overall population (in this case, of women who don't have IBC). A 2023 National Cancer Institute study of women diagnosed with IBC from 2012-2018 found the relative survival rate of women with regional IBC (in which the cancer has spread to surrounding areas/lymph nodes) to be 52%. This means that women with regional IBC were 52% as likely as women in the general population to survive for at least five years. 

The relative survival rate of women with distant IBC (in which the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lung, liver, or bones) is 19%. This means women with distant IBC were 19% as likely to survive for at least five years as women from the general population. 

Since these survival rates were based on treatments that occurred five years prior to the publication of the results, people diagnosed with IBC today may have better outcomes as treatments are always improving.

Plus, survival rates can be impacted by other factors, including:

• Your age.
• Overall health.
• How far the cancer has spread.
• The cancer’s response to treatment.
• Tumor grade.

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How Do You Treat Inflammatory Breast Cancer?  

If a diagnosis of IBC is confirmed, surgery is often the primary treatment for breast cancer. 

Treatment of inflammatory breast cancer is based on its stage and other factors, such as your overall health and test results. It's important to start treatment right away for this fast-growing cancer.

Medicine to treat inflammatory breast cancer

The main medicines used to treat IBC are:

• Chemotherapy — These medicines kill fast-growing cells, including cancer cells and some normal cells. They're given before surgery to shrink cancer or after surgery to help keep cancer from coming back. Chemo is sometimes used with radiation therapy.
• Hormone therapy — These drugs stop the production of certain hormones that the cancer needs to grow.

Surgery for inflammatory breast cancer

There are a few different types of common surgeries to treat IBC, including:

• Axillary lymph node dissection — If your sentinel lymph node biopsy is positive for cancer, you may undergo this surgery to remove all or a group of lymph nodes in the axilla (armpit). 
• Breast surgery — The most common types of surgery for breast cancer are those in which a doctor removes the entire breast (mastectomy), the cancerous tumor (lumpectomy), lymph nodes under the arm, and/or in rare instances, some of the chest muscles.
• Radiation therapy — High-dose x-rays destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. Most people have radiation after surgery. External radiation therapy directs rays at the tumor from outside a person’s body.

In some cases, your doctor may recommend that you undergo additional neoadjuvant therapies (before surgery) and adjuvant therapies (after surgery) to control this aggressive cancer or reduce the risk of recurrence. 

Other treatments include:

• Endocrine therapy — These medicines block hormones that cause certain cancers to grow.
• Immunotherapy — This treatment helps your immune system fight cancer.
• Targeted therapy — These medicines target cancer cells and may cause less harm to normal cells. They help keep cancer from growing or spreading.

Sometimes a clinical trial may be a good choice. Your doctor and other specialists will talk with you about your options and then make a treatment plan and course of action. 

How do I cope with inflammatory breast cancer?  

Inflammatory breast cancer is a very serious disease, and a diagnosis of IBC can leave you feeling confused, scared, or alone.

Everyone deals with cancer differently. Remember, there's no right or wrong way to feel.

It may help to:

• Connect with other people. Reach out to a friend or a loved one. 
• Talk with others who have breast cancer. Check with your doctor's office to find a local support group for people with breast cancer.
• Get more information about this type of cancer or about your treatment. Your doctor will answer any questions you have.

If you're experiencing any thoughts of hurting yourself or others, you should reach out to your doctor immediately.

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By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-09-18.