OBJECTIVES : Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare aggressive form of cancer with poor outcomes. It accounts for about 1% to 5% of all breast cancer with the average diagnosis age of 52. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between age and initial surgical resection and mortality among patients diagnosed with IBC.

METHODS : We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program for women with IBC, aged 18 and older and diagnosed between 1991 and 2015. To understand the variations of age on receiving initial surgical resection and IBC-specific mortality, age was divided into four age categories (18-49 (younger), 50-64, 65-74, or 75+). Initial surgical resection was defined as complete resection. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the association of age with initial surgical resection. A multivariable cox-proportional hazards model was used to assess the association between age and IBC-specific mortality.

RESULTS : A total of 14,503 IBC women were identified and the age distribution was: 18-49 (27%), 50-54 (39%), 65-74 (17%), and 75+ (15%). A total of 4,555 (31%) women did not receive surgical resection. The older population had lower odds for receiving initial surgical resection (OR=0.85 (95%CI:0.76-0.94), OR=0.67 (95%CI:0.59-0.76), and OR=0.44 (95%CI 0.38-0.50) for age groups 50-64, 65-74, and 75+, respectively) compared to younger women. Older women had a higher risk of IBC-specific mortality (HR=1.11 (95%CI:1.03-1.19) and HR=1.39 (95%CI:1.29-1.51) for age groups 65-74 and 75+, respectively) than the younger groups.

CONCLUSIONS : Increase age may be associated with lower odds of receiving initial surgical resection and a greater risk for IBC-specific mortality. Further research is needed to examine other patient, treatment and tumor specific characteristics that may affect these findings.