When dealing with inflammatory breast cancer patients often find they are excluded from clinical trial participation. This exclusion results in a lack of quality evidence for the development of standards of care. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network breast cancer treatment guidelines are based on various levels of evidence and when little or no evidence exists the panel has to rely on physician experience.  Much of inflammatory breast cancer treatment is based solely on physician experience. It is essential that more and more clinical trials be developed that are inflammatory breast cancer specific or at least include inflammatory breast cancer patients.  However, if inflammatory breast cancer patients are included in the trial it is important that the resulting data identifies this sub-group so we can learn what works and what doesn't work for inflammatory breast cancer patients.

With that preface, here's some information on a clinical trial currently being offered at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.  The title of the trial is "Ruxolitinib in Patients With Breast Cancer". This is a Phase 2 (to test the effectiveness of an investigational drug to learn whether the drug works in treating a specific cancer)  Phase II trials also mean that the drug in question has not yet been approved for this specific type of cancer.

"Ruxolitinib is a drug which blocks the Janus tyrosine Kinase (JAK) signaling pathway. It is thought that this pathway might be important in certain types of breast cancer, and that blocking this pathway might lead to anti-cancer effects. This study is testing the effects of ruxolitinib in patients with breast cancer", including inflammatory breast cancer.

Eligible patients must have confirmed invasive breast cancer that is either triple negative metastatic breast cancer or inflammatory breast cancer with any ER, PR, Her2 status.  Unfortunately brain metastasis patients are excluded from this trial.  For a full listing of trial participant criteria see the links below.

To learn more about this clinical trial go to:
http://www.dana-farber.org/research/clinical-trials/clinical-trial.aspx?tid=2787
or
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01562873

The Dana Farber Cancer Institute's specialized IBC Program is a multi-disciplinary group with expertise in dealing with inflammatory breast cancer.  "Individuals calling our IBC program who suspect or have been told they have IBC are contacted by our IBC nurses within 24 hours."  Dr. Beth Overmoyer, director of the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program, has a genuine concern that patients receive prompt and accurate diagnosis; and a team that will work with the patient to develop a personalized treatment plan.

Dr. Overmoyer received a grant from the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation that will dovetail with the ruxolitinib trial described above.  It is her hope that this compound will be a useful tool for the effective treatment of inflammatory breast cancer.

For more on the IBC Program at Dana Farber go to:
http://www.dana-farber.org/Adult-Care/Treatment-and-Support/Treatment-Centers-and-Clinical-Services/Breast-Cancer-Treatment-Center/Inflammatory-Breast-Cancer-Program.aspx
or try this shorter link:
http://tinyurl.com/cedjsav . 

The American Cancer Society (ACS) name and logo are synonymous with "all things cancer" to most of us.  They've been around a long time and have an active presence in most communities.  Their various programs and fundraising events give them a high profile and provide a framework to connect individuals with others facing similar circumstances.

The Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation has had a long-standing relationship with the education/information office of ACS.  Their educational resource people are quick to refer questions about inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) to the Foundation, knowing that it is a distinct disease and general breast cancer information may not meet the caller's needs.  Over the years they've worked to expand and update their website information on IBC as well.

On a recent visit to their website we were pleased to see that the IBC information had recently been updated (March 2013) and covers the topic quite well.  The information is easy to understand, is presented in lay language, and is quite comprehensive in coverage.  In spite of the usual mantra of "early detection" and "screening" found in most breast cancer literature the ACS IBC information includes this warning "Following American Cancer Society guidelines for early detection of breast cancer can improve a woman's odds of finding most types of breast cancer early, when it can be treated most successfully. Unfortunately, because IBC grows and spreads so fast, screening is not generally helpful for finding this disease early."

The information on the ACS website is a good companion for those looking for information on IBC.  Used along with the information on the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation website, the ACS pages may help individuals understand aspects of the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes in a way that is easier to understand for some.

Check out the American Cancer Society's IBC information at:
http://tinyurl.com/d93rdcz  

The information may be downloaded and printed [.pdf, 9 pages, 156K] from that same link. 

Watch for news from American Association for Cancer Research 2013 meeting, the Community Cancer Network and more!  

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