Standard Treatment This stage, which includes inflammatory carcinoma , is generally regarded as inoperable. Surgery is usually limited to the initial diagnostic biopsy , with treatment of the local tumor by chemotherapy or radiation. Chemotherapy is often used because over 50 percent of patients have hidden metastases. If a good response is obtained with chemotherapy and/or radiation, surgery may be helpful to remove residual tumor.
Because all three therapies are used but their best sequence has not yet been determined, newly diagnosed patients with Stage IIIB cancer should be considered for clinical trials . Complex treatment programs involving integrated chemotherapy (with or without autologous bone marrow transplantation) and radiotherapy followed by surgery are under study. If a clinical trial is not available, consideration should be given to one of the current aggressive combined treatment protocols.
