First research, treatment clinic for inflammatory breast cancer to open at University of Texas

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston on Wednesday is scheduled to open the "first clinic in the world" dedicated to the research and treatment of inflammatory breast cancer, the Houston Chronicle reports.

According to the Chronicle, 2% of the 275,000 diagnosed breast cancer cases in the U.S. involve inflammatory breast cancer, and 60% of women diagnosed with the disease die within five years.

Inflammatory breast cancer often is missed during a breast exam because it does not "conform to traditional images of breast cancer," according to the Chronicle.

The disease also is difficult to treat because it is immersed through the lymph system and breast and does not form a lump, the Chronicle reports.

The clinic -- which will include a team of 17 physicians to examine 60 to 80 new cases annually -- aims to increase the amount of research and treatment targeted at inflammatory breast cancer, the Chronicle reports.

"Our primary goal is to finally understand why this disease is different and why it's so resistant to treatment," Massimo Cristofanilli, co-director of the clinic, said, adding, "We'll gather serum and tissue, look at gene expression and analyze other pertinent biological information, in hopes of finally developing treatment guidelines."

Michael Sabel, a professor of surgery at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, said the clinic is a good idea because it will bring many patients to one location.

He added, "The disease is so rare you'll have one patient here, one patient there, each being treated differently.

Any time you can get a lot of patients in one place and do clinical trials, you can understand the disease and treatment options better" (Ackerman, Houston Chronicle, 10/21).