Cancer
Stem cells are pluripotent cells, with a large replicative potential, which perform normal physiological functions such as tissue renewal and damage repair. However, because of their long lifespan and high replicative potential, stem cells are ideal targets to accumulate multiple mutations. Therefore, they can be regarded as being responsible for the initiation of tumor formation. In the past, numerous...
BACKGROUND:Treatments for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) have changed over the last 15 to 20 years. The authors of this report undertook a retrospective review of patients who were treated at the Royal Marsden Hospital (RMH) to determine whether recurrence‐free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) have improved as treatment regimens have altered.
METHODS:Detailed clinical‐pathologic data were...
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is characterized by a peculiar geographic distribution in incidence, being described as more common in Tunisia and the region of North Africa. The authors performed a systematic review of published literature on rapidly progressing breast cancer and IBC in Tunisia and analyzed the evolution in epidemiology, clinical presentation, treatment, and therapeutic results...
Despite the introduction of multimodality treatment approaches, the prognosis of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is poor. Recent developments in molecular targeted therapy may be effective against IBC. The authors report the results of a literature review. Trastuzumab and lapatinib, which target human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER‐2), have demonstrated benefit in clinical trials for HER‐2–positive...
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) accounts for 1% to 5% of all breast cancer cases. Its aggressive biology is characterized by rapid disease progression and poor prognosis. To improve and standardize therapy for IBC, development of novel therapeutics to molecular targets of IBC is key. Trastuzumab treatment, an anti‐HER2 humanized monoclonal antibody, has been demonstrated to improve the 3‐year survival...
This objective of the current review was to provide the reader with a comprehensive summary of the literature related to 3 important and inter‐related features of the biology of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC): angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and the formation of tumor emboli. Information derived from animal models of IBC as well as from translational studies using tissue samples of patients with...
The key roles of imaging in inflammatory breast cancer using mammography, sonography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography/computed tomography to facilitate image‐guided biopsy for biomarker evaluation, delineate disease extent, diagnose distant metastases, and monitor response to therapy are described in this article. Cancer 2010;116(11 suppl):2755–7. © 2010 American Cancer...
BACKGROUND:Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive form of locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). Patients with IBC commonly present with skin metastasis, which are observed microscopically as tumor emboli within dermal lymphatics. These metastatic tumor cells aberrantly overexpress E‐cadherin and exhibit the ability to undergo self‐renewal and are highly invasive. There are no therapeutics...
The clinical‐pathological features of inflammatory breast cancer include enrichment of factors that have been previously associated with radioresistant disease, including negative hormone receptor status and a phenotype enriched for relatively radioresistant breast cancer stem/progenitor cells. The risks and benefits of accelerated postmastectomy radiation treatment regimens in the multimodality management...
The authors have found that retroviral sequences with 85% to 95% homology to the mouse mammary tumor virus were present in 40% of the sporadic breast cancers of American women. These sequences were not found in normal breasts or other tumors. A whole proviral structure was detected in 2 tumors. Breast cancer cells in culture were shown to contain and shed betaretroviral particles. This virus was designated...
BACKGROUND:New tumor registry rules for abstracting multiple primaries and histologies include 1 specifically for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), which states that the International Classification for Oncology (ICD‐O) histology code 8530 (3) for IBC should be used only when it is on the pathology report. IBC is typically clinically diagnosed. The purpose of this project is to determine the potential...
The advent of multimodality therapy for patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), consisting of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, particularly taxanes, surgery, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapy, has improved survival. A pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer and IBC improves outcomes, which suggests that obtaining a pathologic complete response to...
Breast cancer represents the most common cancer among women in Italy. In the last decade, an increase in incidence and a decrease in mortality from breast cancer have been observed in Italy. These findings may be explained at least in part by the implementation of organized screening programs (SMPs). The screening programs are not diffused homogeneously throughout Italy, where approximately 60% of...
BACKGROUND:Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare but aggressive form of breast cancer. Despite multimodality treatment, the long‐term survival rate for patients with IBC has remained inferior at 50%. Until recently, IBC was understudied at the molecular level. Since 2004, new high‐throughput molecular profiling technologies have been applied to clinical samples with the aim of identifying genes...
BACKGROUND:Aggressiveness of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is related to its metastatic potential. The introduction of primary chemotherapy in the multimodality treatment has dramatically changed the prognosis. However, survival remains poor. Since 1995, innovative systemic therapies have been assessed in France in multicentric clinical trials, initially centered on high‐dose chemotherapy (HDC)...
BACKGROUND:Although inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is recognized as the most lethal variant of locally advanced breast cancer, few molecular signatures of IBC have been identified that can be used as targets to develop therapeutics that effectively inhibit the aggressive phenotype displayed by IBC tumors.
METHODS:Real‐time polymerase chain reaction analysis, Western blot analysis, modified Boyden...
BACKGROUND:The incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) increases with age. Total thyroidectomy, often followed by radioactive iodine (RAI), is recommended for patients who have tumors that measure ≥1 cm in greatest dimension. In the current study, the authors assessed the use of thyroidectomy and RAI among elderly patients with DTC and the effects on survival.
METHODS:Adults aged ≥45 years...
BACKGROUND:Bendamustine hydrochloride is a novel alkylating agent. In this multicenter study, the authors evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of single‐agent bendamustine in patients with rituximab‐refractory, indolent B‐cell lymphoma.
METHODS:Eligible patients (N = 100, ages 31‐84 years) received bendamustine at a dose of 120 mg/m2 by intravenous infusion on Days 1 and 2 every 21 days for 6 to 8...
BACKGROUND:The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of belotecan, a new camptothecin analog, combined with cisplatin for the treatment of chemotherapy‐naive patients with extensive‐disease small cell lung cancer (ED SCLC).
METHODS:Treatment consisted of belotecan 0.5 mg/m2 daily on Days 1 through 4 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on Day 1 of a 3‐week cycle for up to 6 cycles unless there...