Targeting signaling pathways in inflammatory breast cancer

Abstract

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), although rare, is the most aggressive type of breast cancer. Only 2–4% of breast cancer cases are classified as IBC, but—owing to its high rate of metastasis and poor prognosis—8% to 10% of breast cancer-related mortality occur in patients with IBC. Currently, IBC-specific targeted therapies are not available, and there is a critical need for novel therapies derived via understanding novel targets. In this review, we summarize the biological functions of critical signaling pathways in the progression of IBC and the preclinical and clinical studies of targeting these pathways in IBC. We also discuss studies of crosstalk between several signaling pathways and the IBC tumor microenvironment.