People with inflammatory breast cancer have a higher risk of cancer spreading to the brain

New research shows that among breast cancer patients, those with a rare subtype called inflammatory breast cancer, have a higher
risk of their cancer spreading or metastasizing to the brain.
The study was published by Wiley in
CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Studies have shown higher rates of brain metastasis in patients with inflammatory breast cancer, but detailed information
is lacking.
To gain insight into the incidence and risk factors for brain metastases in this patient population, Laura E.
G.
Warren, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and her colleagues analyzed data
from 372 patients with stage III inflammatory breast cancer and 159 patients with stage IV inflammatory breast cancer.

At a median follow-up of 5 years, the incidence of brain metastases was 5%, 9%, and 18% in stage III patients, and 17%, 30%, and 42%
in stage IV patients, respectively.
Patients with triple-negative breast cancer are at particularly high risk of having shorter survival times when they develop brain metastases than those with hormone receptor-positive or HER2-positive breast cancer who develop brain metastases
.
Patients whose cancer has metastasized to other parts of the body besides the brain are also at higher risk of developing brain metastases, especially when the metastases occur at a young age
.

"The relatively high incidence of brain metastases in the study population underscores the need for
future research into the potential role of monitoring brain imaging in high-risk patients.
The Dana-Farber Cancer Study has an open-track Phase II single-arm study on this issue," Dr.
Warren said
.
"It also highlights the need for brain imaging for inflammatory breast cancer patients with neurological symptoms, given the high
incidence of brain metastases in this population.
"

In this study, most patients diagnosed with brain metastases had neurological symptoms, but because some patients may have undetected, asymptomatic brain metastases, the true incidence of inflammatory breast cancer may be higher
than Dr.
Warren and her colleagues observed.

A related editorial notes that it is important
to determine whether early detection of brain metastases improves survival and quality of life when considering whether to routinely perform brain imaging in patients with inflammatory breast cancer.

Original:

Incidence, features, and management of central nervous system metastases in patients with inflammatory breast cancer