Overview
Inflammatory breast cancer is a form of breast cancer that causes breast swelling and skin changes.
Inflammatory breast cancer happens when a growth of cells forms in the breast tissue. The cells break away from where they start to grow and travel to the lymphatic vessels in the skin. The cells can block the vessels and cause the skin on the breast to look swollen. This skin on the breast might look pink, red, purple or bruised, depending on your skin color.
Inflammatory breast cancer is considered a locally advanced cancer. When a cancer is locally advanced, that means it has spread from where it started to nearby tissue and possibly to nearby lymph nodes.
Inflammatory breast cancer can easily be confused with a breast infection, which is a much more common cause of breast swelling and skin changes. Seek medical attention right away if you notice skin changes on your breast.
Inflammatory breast cancer is different from more common types of breast cancer because it usually develops rapidly, often does not form a distinct lump, and is already locally advanced when it is diagnosed. The swelling and skin changes happen when cancer cells block lymph vessels in the skin of the breast.
Symptoms
Inflammatory breast cancer doesn't commonly form a lump, as occurs with other forms of breast cancer. Instead, signs and symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include:
- Fast change in the appearance of one breast, over the course of several weeks.
- Thickness, heaviness or swelling of one breast.
- Changes in skin color. Depending on your skin color, this can give the breast a pink, red, purple or bruised appearance.
- Unusual warmth of the affected breast.
- Dimpling or ridges on the skin of the affected breast, similar to an orange peel.
- Tenderness, pain or aching.
- Enlarged lymph nodes under the arm, above the collarbone or below the collarbone.
- Flattened nipple or nipple that turns inward on the affected breast.
For inflammatory breast cancer to be diagnosed, these symptoms must have been present for less than six months.
What inflammatory breast cancer may look and feel like
The skin changes of inflammatory breast cancer may look pink, red, purple or bruised, depending on your skin color. The affected area may be swollen, warm, thickened or dimpled, and it may look and feel like an orange peel. The breast also may have a heavy, tender, painful or burning feeling. These changes usually develop quickly over several weeks to months and often involve at least one-third of the breast.
Inflammatory breast cancer usually affects one breast. One breast may become larger, warmer or heavier than the other. A lump is not common, though some people may have an underlying mass.
Inflammatory breast cancer in men
Men can get inflammatory breast cancer because men have breast tissue. In men, inflammatory breast cancer may cause rapid breast swelling, a change in skin color, warmth and tenderness. It does not cause a lump. Inflammatory breast cancer is very rare in men. Learn more about male breast cancer.
When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with a doctor or other healthcare professional if you have any symptoms that worry you.
Other, more common conditions have symptoms similar to those of inflammatory breast cancer. A breast injury or breast infection, called mastitis, may cause skin color changes, swelling and pain.
Inflammatory breast cancer can easily be confused with a breast infection, which is much more common. It's reasonable and common to first be treated with antibiotics for a suspected breast infection. If the condition does not improve, your healthcare professional may consider more-serious causes of your symptoms, such as inflammatory breast cancer.
If you've been treated for a breast infection but your symptoms continue, contact your healthcare professional. You may have a mammogram or other test to evaluate your symptoms. The only way a healthcare professional can know whether your symptoms are caused by inflammatory breast cancer is to remove a sample of tissue for testing.
Conditions that can look like inflammatory breast cancer
Mastitis and other breast infections can cause a change in skin color, warmth, swelling, tenderness and itching that resemble inflammatory breast cancer. Mastitis is especially common during breastfeeding. A breast injury also can cause swelling, pain and skin color changes. If treatment for a suspected infection does not improve symptoms, or if the affected area gets larger or symptoms worsen, contact your healthcare professional for more testing.
Paget's disease of the breast can cause scaly, crusted, itchy or irritated skin that usually begins on the nipple and may spread to the darker skin around it. Eczema and contact dermatitis can cause similar nipple or skin changes. These conditions are different from inflammatory breast cancer, but persistent breast or nipple changes need medical evaluation.
Causes
Inflammatory breast cancer happens when cells in the breast develop changes in their DNA. A cell's DNA holds the instructions that tell the cell what to do. In healthy cells, the DNA gives instructions to grow and multiply at a set rate. The instructions tell the cells to die at a set time. In cancer cells, the DNA changes give different instructions. The changes tell the cancer cells to make many more cells quickly. Cancer cells can keep living when healthy cells would die. This causes too many irregular cells to build up.
Most often, the DNA changes happen in a cell in one of the tubes, called ducts, that can carry breast milk to the nipple. But the cancer also can begin with a cell in the glandular tissue, called lobules, where breast milk can be produced.
In inflammatory breast cancer, the cancer cells break away from where they started. They travel to the lymphatic vessels in the breast skin. The cells collect in and clog the vessels. The blockage in the lymphatic vessels causes skin color changes, swelling and dimpled skin, giving the appearance of an orange peel. This skin change is a classic sign of inflammatory breast cancer.
Risk factors
Factors that raise the risk of inflammatory breast cancer include:
Being female
Women are much more likely than men to get breast cancer, including inflammatory breast cancer. Everyone is born with some breast tissue, so anyone can get breast cancer.
Being younger
Inflammatory breast cancer is more frequently diagnosed in people in their 40s and 50s.
Being Black
Black people have a higher risk of inflammatory breast cancer than do white people.
Having obesity
People who have obesity have a greater risk of inflammatory breast cancer.
Prevention
Making changes in your daily life may help lower your risk of breast cancer. Try to:
- Ask about breast cancer screening. Talk with your doctor or other healthcare professional about when to begin breast cancer risk assessment. Ask about the benefits and risks of screening. Together, you can decide what breast cancer screening tests are right for you.
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Become familiar with your breasts through breast self-exam for breast awareness. You may choose to become familiar with your breasts by occasionally inspecting them during a breast self-exam for breast awareness. If you find a change, lumps or other unusual signs in your breasts, tell a healthcare professional right away.
Breast awareness can't prevent breast cancer. But it may help you to better understand the look and feel of your breasts. This might make it more likely that you'll notice if something changes.
- Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. For breast cancer prevention, it is best not to drink alcohol. If you choose to drink alcohol, limit how often you drink and keep the amount small.
- Exercise most days of the week. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. If you haven't been active lately, ask your healthcare professional whether exercising is OK and start slowly.
- Limit hormone therapy during menopause. Combination hormone therapy may raise the risk of breast cancer. Talk with a healthcare professional about the benefits and risks of hormone therapy.
Some people have symptoms during menopause that cause discomfort. They may decide that the risks of hormone therapy are acceptable to get relief. To reduce the risk of breast cancer, use the lowest dose of hormone therapy possible for the shortest amount of time.
- Keep a healthy weight. If your weight is healthy, work to keep that weight. If you need to lose weight, ask a healthcare professional about healthy ways to lower your weight. Eat fewer calories and slowly increase the amount you exercise.