What is Locally-Advanced Breast Cancer (LABC)?
Locally-advanced breast cancer (LABC) is a term used to describe a disease characterized by breast tumours that may be large (greater than 5 cm) with or without lymph node involvement, or tumours that extend beyond the breast tissue into surrounding skin or muscle. One particularly aggressive form of LABC is called inflammatory breast cancer. LABC is difficult to treat and also likely to re-occur. In mid-2006, a clinical program was set up at Princess Margaret Hospital specifically to specialize in the treatment of LABC. How common is this type of breast cancer? LABC accounts for 10 to 15% of all new breast cancer diagnosed in North America. How is LABC being treated at Princess Margaret Hospital? There is no ‘off the shelf’ treatment for a woman with LABC. Women with this disease require an intensive assessment involving experts from a multi-disciplinary team who collaborate on each woman’s individual case. The tumours are often too large to perform surgery as the initial treatment, s
