Clinical Response to Induction Chemotherapy Predicts Outcome after Combined-Modality Therapy in Inflammatory Breast Cancer

AbstractPurpose: To assess predictors of outcome in a cohort of Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) patients receiving induction chemotherapy followed by local treatment.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 95 non-metastatic IBC patient files.Results: Complete clinical response (cCR) was obtained in 15 (16%) patients. Median follow up was 13.4 years (IC95%: 10.4–14.6). Loco-regional control (LC), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) at 5 years were 85%, 41%, and 55%, respectively; cCR was associated with better DFS and OS in multivariate analyses adjusted for age (p = 0.02).Conclusions: Clinical response to upfront chemotherapy predicts the outcome of patients affected by IBC.