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Molecular and epidemiological characteristics of inflammatory breast cancer in Algerian patients

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Abstract

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) shows a high incidence in Tunisia and Egypt but epidemiological and molecular characteristics have not been described in Algeria. We compared 117 IBC and 59 non-IBC locally advanced breast cancers (LABC), for estrogen and progesterone receptors, HER2, and EGFR protein expression by immunohistochemistry, and HER2 gene amplification by chromogenic in situ hybridization. Demographic, clinico-pathological, and molecular variables were compared with chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests to test for significance (P < 0.05, two-tailed). Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were plotted using Kaplan–Meier curves and compared using the log-rank test. Tumor emboli were detected in 77% of IBC. Palpable masses were found in all LABC but only in 32% of IBC (P < 0.001). Recurrences were higher in LABC than in IBC (48 vs. 35%; P = 0.14) but OS was worse in IBC (68 vs. 71%; P = 0.06). There were no significant differences between IBC and LABC by demographics or by clinico-pathological parameters. The majority of IBC and LABC tumors were luminal A (62 and 64%), followed by basal (~18%, each), triple negative (~18%, each), and HER2+ (~10%, each) subtypes. In multivariate analyses, grade was associated with worse OS (P = 0.04), and DFS (P < 0.001) in IBC; chemo- and radio-therapy were associated with improved OS and DFS, respectively (P < 0.05 for each) in LABC. In conclusion, IBC in Algeria shows similar characteristics to IBC described for Egypt and Tunisia with subtle molecular differences. Current therapeutic treatments were not very effective in this population and new approaches are much needed.

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Acknowledgments

Supported in part by New Mexico State IBC funding (New Mexico Senate Bill 532); University of New Mexico Clinical and Translational Science, CTSA 1ULRR031977-01; and UICC ICRETT fellowship (Dr. Chaher; ICR/09/043). We would like to thank the PMCCC (Algiers, Algeria) Human Tissue Repository for providing tissue samples and clinical data.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Centre Pierre et Marie Curie, 1, Avenue Battendier, Place May 1st, Algiers, Algeria

    Nabila Chaher & Nadija Terki

  2. Clinical Research and Translational Therapeutics, The University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Hugo Arias-Pulido & Claire Verschraegen

  3. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Clifford Qualls

  4. Department of Medical Oncology, Centre Pierre et Marie Curie, 1, Avenue Battendier, Place May 1st, Algiers, Algeria

    Kamel Bouzid

  5. Department of Internal Medicine, The University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Anne Marie Wallace & Melanie Royce

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  1. Nabila Chaher
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  2. Hugo Arias-Pulido
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  3. Nadija Terki
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hugo Arias-Pulido or Melanie Royce.

Additional information

This work was partially presented at the 2nd International Inflammatory Breast Cancer Conference (Marseille, France; October 6–7, 2010).

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Chaher, N., Arias-Pulido, H., Terki, N. et al. Molecular and epidemiological characteristics of inflammatory breast cancer in Algerian patients. Breast Cancer Res Treat 131, 437–444 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-011-1422-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-011-1422-5

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