Welcome to the Duke Consortium for Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)!

The Duke Consortium for Inflammatory Breast Cancer is a multidisciplinary center of research innovation and clinical excellence that is focused on understanding, preventing, and treating inflammatory breast cancer through collaboration with our local, national and international partners.

Support from Duke School of Medicine Interdisciplinary Colloquia funds led to the first meeting on December 3, 2014, which included investigators with diverse research and clinical interests from Duke, NCCU and UNC, research administrators, and patient advocates. In this meeting, the group conducted a detailed analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities available at Duke University and at our local university partners and identified the critical need for a cohesive effort in North Carolina for this understudied cancer.

The goals of the Duke Consortium for Inflammatory Breast Cancer are to:

• Identify the molecular determinants underlying the distinct biological features and aggressive progression observed in patients with inflammatory breast cancer
• Develop innovative preclinical models and methods that will improve diagnosis, imaging, and development of therapeutic approaches specifically for treatment of inflammatory breast cancer
• Evaluate the effectiveness of treatment for inflammatory breast cancer patients.
• Provide educational tools to our research and clinical trainees in aspects of translational research, health disparity and clinical outcomes.
• Collaborate with patients, advocates and local community health care providers to increase awareness of inflammatory breast cancer

 

History

In December of 2014, a group of investigators with diverse research and clinical interests, research administrators, and patient advocates came together as part of an interdisciplinary  initiative at Duke University School of Medicine. We evaluated the strengths,  weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities available at each institution to address the unique features and challenges of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a rare but highly aggressive cancer that is frequently misdiagnosed and underreported. The group ratified the critical need for a multidisciplinary and cohesive effort in North Carolina that will also enhance collaborations with our global partners and national IBC centers in research, education, and population health.

Mission

The mission of the Duke Consortium for IBC is to understand the challenges faced by patients and caregivers with this highly aggressive and often misdiagnosed type of breast cancer. Compared with other types of breast cancer, IBC has a unique presentation, tends to be diagnosed at a younger age and in the United States, and African Americans are disproportionately at a higher risk of developing aggressive IBC with poor outcomes.

Duke Cancer Institute: Duke Consortium for Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Leadership

Gayathri Devi, PhD; Program Director

Susan Dent, PhDClinical Director

To join our coalition or to receive more information, sign up here.