Researchers are improving the chances of women faced with an aggressive and difficult to diagnose form of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer spreads quickly and can be lethal in six to nine months.  Inflammatory Breast cancer is a rare but extremely aggressive form of breast cancer that doesn't present like other forms of breast cancer. It accounts for 1 to 5 percent of all breast cancer cases in the United States.

The disease tends to be diagnosed in women at a younger age and is characterized by redness, swelling or warmth in the breast. These symptoms occur within a three-month period. Often there is no palpable lump, and by the time it is diagnosed, the cancer has already metastasized, or spread, reducing the chances for survival. According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for patients with inflammatory breast cancer is only 25 to 50 percent.

With FDG-PET/CT, researchers are able to accurately determine the location of metastases early in the disease process, when appropriate treatment can be administered.

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