Combined chemoimmunotherapy and radiation therapy of inflammatory breast carcinoma

Abstract

Thirty‐two patients with a diagnosis of primary inflammatory breast carcinoma were treated with combination chemoimmunotherapy consisting of 5‐fluorouracil, doxorubicin hydrochloride (Adria‐mycin), and cyclophosphamide (FAC) plus BCG followed by radiation therapy. This group of patients was compared to a group of 32 consecutive historical controls treated with radiation therapy alone. The estimated mean disease‐free interval for the FAC‐BCG group was 16 months, compared to 9 months for the radiation therapy alone group (P <0.01). The estimated median survival for the FAC‐ BCG treated group was 24 months, compared to 18 months for the radiation therapy alone group (P = 0.03). The combined modality approach consisting of chemoimmunotherapy and radiation therapy significantly improved the disease‐free interval and survival of patients with inflammatory breast carcinoma.