"Diabetic mastopathy" in the male breast--a special type of gynecomastia. A comparative study of lymphocytic mastitis and gynecomastia

Ultrasound as a Valuable Imaging Modality in Sclerosing Lymphocytic Lobulitis: Imaging Features Based on a Retrospective Cohort Analysis of 51 Cases

PURPOSE

Sclerosing lymphocytic lobulitis (SLL) is a rare benign breast condition usually associated with diabetes mellitus and whose imaging features have been assessed in few studies, limiting the adoption of diagnostic guidelines. We aimed to identify the main morphological features associated with SLL on imaging examinations (mainly ultrasound and mammography) and to retrospectively evaluate the role that each method played in the diagnostic workup (detection and indication for biopsy).

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted in a high-volume single center, encompassing 51 consecutive patients (100% female; 26-78 y; 43.7 ± 15.5 y) with histopathologically proven SLL (59 lesions; 0.5-6.1 cm).

RESULTS

Most lesions (31/59; 53%) were found in asymptomatic individuals. Ultrasound detected 91.1% (51 out of 56 lesions assessed by this modality), of which 94.1% were non-circumscribed masses (BI-RADS® 4). Mammography detected 41.6% (15 out of 36 lesions assessed by this modality), with a predominance (80%) of non-calcified ones (masses, asymmetries and distortion). Two-year follow-up was achieved in 29 lesions (49%), showing complete remission (45%) or stability (41%) in most cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Most lesions in this retrospective sample have been detected by means of ultrasound and had their need for biopsy indicated by this modality. Female diabetic patients younger than 40 years presenting with a palpable lesion and a non-circumscribed mass on ultrasound could be submitted to core biopsy; histopathologic findings suggestive of SLL should be considered concordant in this scenario, with subsequent conservative treatment.

Mastitis in Autoimmune Diseases: Review of the Literature, Diagnostic Pathway, and Pathophysiological Key Players

Mastitis frequently affects women of childbearing age. Of all the pathological breast conditions requiring specific management, autoimmune mastitis is in the third position after infection and breast cancer. The aim of this literature review was to make a comprehensive description of autoimmune diseases targeting the mammary gland. Four main histological patterns of autoimmune mastitis are described: (i) lymphocytic infiltrates; (ii) ductal ectasia; (iii) granulomatous mastitis; and (iv) vasculitis. Our literature search found that all types of autoimmune disease may target the mammary gland: organ-specific diseases (diabetes, thyroiditis); connective tissue diseases (such as systemic erythematosus lupus or Sjögren’s syndrome); vasculitides (granulomatosis with polyangiitis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, giant cell arteritis, polyarteritis nodosa, Behçet’s disease); granulomatous diseases (sarcoidosis, Crohn’s disease); and IgG4-related disease. Cases of breast-specific autoimmune diseases have also been reported, including idiopathic granulomatous mastitis. These breast-limited inflammatory diseases are sometimes the first symptom of a systemic autoimmune disease. Although autoimmune mastitis is rare, it is probably underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Early diagnosis may allow us to detect systemic diseases at an earlier stage, which could help to initiate a prompt, appropriate therapeutic strategy. In case of suspected autoimmune mastitis, we hereby propose a diagnostic pathway and discuss the potential pathophysiological pathways leading to autoimmune breast damage.

Gynecomastia after euthyroidism restoration in a patient with type 1 diabetes and Graves' disease

In patients with autoimmune disease, gynecomastia should not be considered as 1 of the first signs of hyperthyroidism, rather it is a breast pathology that can be present even when euthyroidism restoration is achieved. It is unknown whether the autoimmune nature of thyroid disorders or simply the hyperthyroidism effects breast changes.

Diabetic sclerosing lymphocytic lobulitis of the breast

Diabetic sclerosing lymphocytic lobulitis of the breast (SLLB) as a complication of long standing diabetes is a benign disease without known tendency to malignant evolution. Clinically, it is characterized by solitary or multiple rock-hard discrete lesion(s) in one or both breasts, usually in a subareolar site, but may appear equally in any part of the breast. Mammographically and morphologically, this lesion simulates cancer. The lesion may recur after excision in the same site or in another location of the ipsilateral or the contralateral breast. Awareness of this entity, establishment of the diagnosis by open biopsy or by core needle biopsy may spare the need for repeated wide excisions and the resulting distortion of the breast architecture. The aim of this review is to arouse the awareness of the physicians and surgeons to this possibility when they find a similar lesion in the breast of a diabetic patient.

Diabetic mastopathy in an advanced elderly woman with insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes mellitus

Diabetic mastopathy is an unusual stromal fibrotic lesion, but typically occurs in long-standing insulin dependent and younger diabetic patients. We report a case of diabetic mastopathy in an older diabetic patient. The patient was a 76-year-old woman with a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus for 13 years and 3 years of insulin treatment. She developed a 3 cm, hard, mobile nodule in the left breast. Mammography revealed a dense mass. Ultrasonography showed an irregular-shaped hypoechoic lesion with an unclear boundary and acoustic shadowing. Since fine needle aspiration biopsy delivered insufficient material and core needle biopsy did not yield any specific findings for diagnosis, clinically diabetic mastopathy was the prime suspect but breast cancer could be completely ruled out. Surgical excision was thus performed and diabetic mastopathy was confirmed pathologically. We report on this rare case of diabetic mastopathy in a 76 year-old type 2 diabetic patient.

Lymphocytic mastitis and diabetic mastopathy: a molecular, immunophenotypic, and clinicopathologic evaluation of 11 cases

Lymphocytic mastitis and diabetic mastopathy are uncommon fibroinflammatory breast diseases. The lesions seen in these entities are unique in that the associated lymphoid infiltrates are composed of predominantly B cells. In addition, B-cell lymphoepithelial lesions, a finding commonly associated with extranodal marginal zone B-cell/mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas, are also often present in lymphocytic mastitis and diabetic mastopathy. Although the clinical and immunomorphologic features are well characterized, the clonality of the B-cell infiltrate and the lymphomatous potential of lymphocytic mastitis and diabetic mastopathy have not been emphasized in the literature. We evaluated 11 cases of lymphocytic mastitis/diabetic mastopathy for immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement and correlated the findings with all available clinical data. A longstanding history of Type I diabetes mellitus was present in seven patients. One nondiabetic patient had Sjogren's syndrome, and two patients had no history of diabetes mellitus or other autoimmune disease. Clinical data were unavailable for one patient. B-cell-predominant lymphoid infiltrates were seen in all cases, and B-cell lymphoepithelial lesions were found in five. No evidence of a B-cell clone was found in any of the 11 cases by appropriately controlled immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement studies, and none of the patients developed lymphoma during follow-up intervals ranging from 2-126 months. These findings suggest that despite the presence of B-cell-predominant lymphoid infiltrates and lymphoepithelial lesions, lymphocytic mastitis and diabetic mastopathy do not appear to be associated with an increased risk for lymphoma.

Diabetic Mastopathy: Adjunctive Use of Ultrasound and Utility of Core Biopsy in Diagnosis

Diabetic mastopathy is uncommon but occurs in long-term insulin-dependent diabetic patients who develop hard palpable breast masses which mimic breast cancer and are occult mammographically. Ultrasound evaluation is useful to analyze the masses. There is a spectrum of ultrasound findings from marked acoustic shadowing to a vague hypoechoic area without shadowing. Ultrasound-guided core biopsy (CB) is recommended for a definitive diagnosis since fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) yields insufficient material for diagnosis secondary to extensive fibrosis. Four of the 11 patients in our series had FNAB, which was reported as insufficient material for diagnosis. However, 10 of 11 patients with diabetic mastopathy were successfully diagnosed by ultrasound-guided CB, helping to avoid an unnecessary surgical excisional biopsy.

Nuchal-type fibroma: a clinicopathologic study of 52 cases

BACKGROUND

Nuchal-type fibroma (NTF) usually arises in the posterior aspect of the neck. Previously published reports describe only 11 cases and provide limited clinicopathologic information.

METHODS

Fifty-two examples of NTF from 50 patients were analyzed from the files of the Soft Tissue Registries of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC, and the Faculty Hospital in Pilsen, Czech Republic.

RESULTS

The age of the patients ranged from 3 to 74 years (mean, 40 years). There were 41 males and 9 females. Thirty-six NTFs were located in the posterior neck region and 16 were from extranuchal sites. Two patients had had lesions excised from both a nuchal and an extranuchal location. The mean greatest tumor dimension was 3.2 cm. Microscopically, all examples had a superficial (subcutaneous and sometimes dermal) component and consisted of paucicellular, thick bundles of lobulated collagen fibers with inconspicuous fibroblasts. Entrapped adipose tissue and traumatic neuromalike nerve proliferations were typically present. Skeletal muscle infiltration was also seen in a minority of cases. Eleven of 25 patients (44%) for whom clinical information was available reportedly had diabetes. Gardner's syndrome was documented in one patient and was possibly present in two additional individuals. During follow-up, five patients had local recurrences, but none of the recurrences were destructive and all were ultimately controlled by local reexcision.

CONCLUSIONS

NTF is a rare, tumorlike accumulation of collagen that often affects the posterior neck region but can also occur in a number of other sites. The process has a strong association with diabetes and also appears to be linked to Gardner's syndrome. Local recurrence probably reflects the persistence of local or systemic factors related to its pathogenesis.

Pseudoangiomatous hyperplasia of mammary stroma associated with gynaecomastia

AIMS

To evaluate the prevalence of pseudoangiomatous hyperplasia of mammary stroma in gynaecomastia and its immunohistochemical profile in this setting.

METHODS

Eighty eight cases of gynaecomastia recovered from the files of the department of pathology, Botucatu School of Medicine from 1976 to 1996 were studied. In the cases associated with pseudoangiomatous hyperplasia of mammary stroma, immunoreactivity for cytokeratins (CAM 5.2), vimentin, CD34, factor VIII related antigen, and the oestrogen and progesterone receptors were studied.

RESULTS

Pseudoangiomatous hyperplasia of mammary stroma was found in 21 of 88 cases of gynaecomastia (23.8%). In all cases, the cells lining the spaces were positive for vimentin, whereas CAM 5.2 and factor VIII related antigen were consistently negative. Nineteen of the 21 cases showed immunoreactivity for CD34. Ductal epithelial cells were positive for both the oestrogen receptor and the progesterone receptor, whereas stromal cells were negative.

CONCLUSIONS

Pseudoangiomatous hyperplasia of mammary stroma was present in approximately one quarter of the cases of gynaecomastia. This immunohistochemical study confirms the mesenchymal origin of the stromal cells that line the pseudovascular spaces, as has been found in female cases of pseudoangiomatous hyperplasia of mammary stroma.