DERMAL LYMPHATIC EMBOLI (DLE) AND Ki-67 BIOMARKER IN ALGERIAN INFLAMMATORY BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

Purpose: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a distinct and rare form of locally advanced breast cancer that affecting younger ages than those for non-inflammatory breast cancer (non-IBC). The primary objective was to determinate whether dermal lymphatic emboli (DLE) and higher proliferation as measured by Ki67 index adds independent prognostic information to the clinical definition of IBC. The secondary was to establish a prognostic molecular phenotype for west Algerian IBC patients.

Methods: We performed a prospective study on 350 patients. In this study, we enrolled 14 IBC and 336 non-IBC patients between January 2014 and December 2016 presented in the Military hospital of Oran. Molecular Subtype analysis was performed using immunohistochemical testing for molecular markers: ER, PR, HER2 and proliferative index Ki67. We investigate that (DLE) status and higher Ki67 level might be a prognostic indicator exclusively in patients with IBC.

Results: The incidence of IBC in our series was 4%. The median age was 47 for IBC patients and 58 for non-IBC cases. Distribution analysis of molecular subtypes revealed a higher incidence of both HER2 (+) 50% and triple negative 29% breast cancer in IBC. For non-IBC, luminal A was the predominant subtype: 37%. We found that 83% IBC patients had a high Ki67 score as compared with 49% of n-IBC. DLE were increased in IBC cancer 72%.

Conclusions: Inflammatory breast cancer west Algerian patients’ frequency is higher in HER2 overexpressing and triple negative subtypes. This relation may explain the poor prognosis and the aggressive form of IBC. A high Ki67 score is a potential molecular marker and dermal lymphatic emboli might be useful prognostic indicator for IBC. It would be of great interest to identify the novel treatments based on the biological characteristics of IBC.