Clinical experience with irradiation of inflammatory carcinoma of the breast with and without elective chemotherapy.

From 1948 to 1972, 69 patients with inflammatory carcinoma of the breast were treated with irradiation alone. Because of a 46% incidence of local-regional failure, twice daily fractionated irradiation was given in 1972 to 11 patients; a decrease in local-regional failures (27%) was achieved. From 1973 through December 1976, preirradiation multidrug chemotherapy was added to the twice daily fractionated irradiation of 31 patients. Analysis of all patients with a minimum two-year follow-up demonstrates that chemotherapy does not improve local-regional control or freedom from disease rates, but does delay appearance of distant metastases.