title: Inflammatory breast cancer: what we know and what we need to learn.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We review the current status of multidisciplinary care for patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and discuss what further research is needed to advance the care of patients with this disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a comprehensive review of the English-language literature on IBC through computerized literature searches.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant advances in imaging, including digital mammography, high-resolution ultrasonography with Doppler capabilities, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography, have improved the diagnosis and staging of IBC. There are currently no established molecular criteria for distinguishing IBC from noninflammatory breast cancer. Such criteria would be helpful for the diagnosis and development of novel targeted therapies. Combinations of neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy have led to an improved prognosis; however, the overall 5-year survival rate for patients with IBC remains very low (∼30%). Sentinel lymph node biopsy and skin-sparing mastectomy are not recommended for patients with IBC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Optimal management of IBC requires close coordination among medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists, as well as radiologists and pathologists. There is a need to identify molecular changes that define the pathogenesis of IBC to enable eradication of IBC with the use of IBC-specific targeted therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Hideko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamauchi
authors.forename: Wendy A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Woodward
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Valero
authors.forename: Ricardo H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lucci
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Buchholz
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwamoto
authors.forename: Savitri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishnamurthy
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Reuben
authors.forename: Gabriel N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Hortobágyi
authors.forename: Naoto T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Ueno
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D058922:Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods