Inflammatory breast cancer

A rare, fast-growing type of breast cancer in which cancer cells block lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, causing the breast to look swollen or inflamed. Inflammatory breast cancer usually does not form a lump that can be felt and may not be seen on a mammogram. Instead, the skin of the breast may appear pink, reddish purple, or bruised and have dimpling or ridges that look like the skin of an orange. These symptoms usually come on quickly. Most inflammatory breast cancers are invasive ductal carcinomas, which means they develop from cells that line the milk ducts of the breast and then spread beyond the ducts. Inflammatory breast cancer is more commonly diagnosed in younger women, Black women, and in women with overweight or obesity.