Eighty-six patients with the clinical features of inflammatory carcinoma of the breast (erythema, peau d''orange, wheals or ridges) were treated with irradiation for potential cure between July 1948 and Dec. 1970. Long protracted irradiation alone with a strong skin reaction offers 50% local control, which is the best rate reported. Any surgical procedure beyond biopsy is probably damaging: all patients subjected to mastectomy developed distant metastases and died. Ninety percent of the patients were dead by 5 yr and only 3 patients remain alive without evidence of disease 7, 10 and 14 yr after radiotherapy. Analysis of survival rates, incidence, sites and times of appearance of local recurrences and distant metastases is presented.