Breast, inflammatory carcinoma

Details
Disease Category
Gender
Age
69 years
Organ System/Discipline
Diagnosis
Breast-inflammatory carcinoma
Clinical History

Prior history of breast cancer, now recurring with diffuse “red/bruised” appearance on the skin of the breast.

Case Discussion

Inflammatory carcinoma is a rare and aggressive form of breast carcinoma defined both by clinical findings (rapid onset breast enlargement/firmness or skin changes (redness/swelling) within at least a third of the breast. Contrary to its misleading name these findings do not correlate histologically to the presence of inflammatory cells, but result from the obstruction of vessels by tumour involvement as seen in this case. The bulk of disease often does reside within vessels; however, an accompanying high-grade invasive carcinoma of no special type is also often present. Based on its aggressive course, inflammatory carcinoma is staged as T4d.

Image Contributors
Chang, M.

Cite

Chang, M. Breast, inflammatory carcinoma. Digital Laboratory Medicine Library, Dept of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto. Published . Accessed December 17, 2025. https://dev.dlml.cflabs.ca/image/breast-inflammatory-carcinoma-lmp33771