Stages of inflammatory breast cancer

Once the staging tests described above are completed, you doctor will describe the inflammatory breast cancer as stage IIIB, stage IIIC, or stage IV.

• Stage IIIB means the cancer has spread to tissues near the breast, such as the skin or chest wall, including the ribs and muscles in the chest. The cancer may have spread to lymph nodes within the breast or under the arm.

• Stage IIIC means the cancer has spread to lymph nodes beneath the collarbone and near the neck. The cancer also may have spread to lymph nodes within the breast or under the arm and to tissues near the breast.

• Stage IV means that the cancer has spread to other organs. These can include the bones, lungs, liver, and/or brain, as well as the lymph nodes in the neck.

For more information about the staging, please visit the Stages of Breast Cancer section.

Tests for hormone-receptor and HER2-receptor status

In addition to figuring out the stage of the cancer, your doctor will test a sample of the cancerous tissue for estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors.

• Hormone-receptor status: This test is used to figure out whether or not the breast cancer has receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. A positive result means that estrogen or progesterone (or both) is fueling the cancer cells’ growth. Most inflammatory breast cancers are hormone-receptor-negative. If the cancer is hormone-receptor-positive, however, your doctor can choose treatments that block or lower estrogen.

• HER2-receptor status: Another test is done to find out whether the breast cancer cells make too much of a protein called HER2. If they do, then they also have too many HER2 receptors at the cell surface. With too many receptors, breast cancer cells pick up too many growth signals and start growing too much and too fast. One way to slow down or stop the growth of the cancer cells is to block the receptors so they don't pick up as many growth signals. That’s what the medication called Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab) does. Many inflammatory breast cancers are HER2-positive, which means they can be treated with Herceptin.