Inflammatory Breast Cancer is Associated with Hyperactivated Mitogen Activated Kinase

Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a distinct clinical subtype of locally advanced breast cancer, with a particularly aggressive behavior and poor prognosis. Clinically, IBC typically presents with rapidly progressive breast warmth, erythema and edema [1]. It is now well established that adjuvant systemic therapy improves survival in patients with early-stage breast cancer [2]. Breast cancer is highly curable if diagnosed at early stage. Recent progress in diagnosis and therapy has increased the survival of women in estrogen-dependent breast cancer. However, despite advances in multidisciplinary treatment, the prognosis of IBC is less favorable than of non-IBC, with a 3-year survival of about 40% [3,4]. Activation of NF-κB in inflammatory breast cancer is associated with loss of Estrogen Receptor (ER) expression, indicating a potential crosstalk between NF-κB and ER. It has been shown that NF-κB activation is not exclusively limited to IBC but more general to ERαbreast tumors.