Review of ultrasound appearance in inflammatory breast cancer: A pictorial essay

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare malignancy accounting for 1-2% of breast cancers. It has an aggressive clinical presentation and poor prognosis. The sonographic findings in 41 patients with a clinical diagnosis of IBC and biopsy-proven breast malignancy are presented in this study. The most common finding was the presence of skin thickening (92%). Multiple small anechoic spaces within the dermis, correlating with the presence of dermal lymphatic invasion by tumour emboli on histopathology were noted in approximately one-third of cases. Other sonographic findings included single or multiple masses, parenchymal oedema, axillary lymphadenopathy, echogenic foci consistent with microcalcifications and increased vascularity.