Is idiopathic granulomatous mastitis a surgical disease? The jury is still out

Granulomatous mastitis in a male breast: A case report and review of literature

Granulomatous mastitis (GM) is a rare disease, particularly among men. Herein, we present a case of GM diagnosed in a 63-year-old male patient who showed reduction in the tumor size during 3 months of observation.

Caracterización clínico-patológica y manejo de pacientes con mastitis granulomatosa crónica en un centro de alta complejidad

Introducción. La mastitis granulomatosa crónica es una enfermedad inflamatoria poco frecuente y con mayor incidencia en el sexo femenino. Su sintomatología y su presentación clínica causan gran ansiedad tanto en el paciente como en el personal médico, debido a su comportamiento similar al de la patología mamaria maligna. No hay una etiología clara ni un manejo terapéutico definido. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar las características clínico-patológicas, el tratamiento y la evolución de las pacientes con mastitis granulomatosa, durante el periodo de estudio. Métodos. Estudio retrospectivo en el que se revisaron las historias clínicas de pacientes con diagnóstico y manejo de trastorno inflamatorio de la mama no especificado (N61X), entre enero de 2010 y diciembre de 2019. Se encontraron 236 pacientes, se excluyeron 176 por no cumplir con el diagnóstico de mastitis granulomatosa crónica o por no tener un seguimiento adecuado. Se evaluaron las características sociodemográficas, clínicas y de evolución, comparando la respuesta que se obtuvo con cada tratamiento. Resultados. Se incluyeron 60 pacientes femeninas que presentaron manifestaciones variadas. El 38,3 % (n=23) recibieron manejo antibiótico, el 30 % (n=18) fue tratado con corticoides, el 8,3 % (n=5) recibió antibióticos más corticoides y se realizó manejo expectante en el 16,6 % (n=10). El 6,6 % (n=4) de los pacientes fueron llevados a cirugía. Discusión. La mejor respuesta y la menor tasa de recidiva se encontró en las pacientes que fueron sometidas a observación y en aquellas que recibieron corticoides.

Postoperative Yanghe decoction regimen improves outcomes for idiopathic granulomatous mastitis: A retrospective cohort study

The etiology of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM), a rare inflammatory breast disease, is not understood. There is no consensus regarding the treatment of IGM. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of surgery combined with traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of IGM.We retrospectively analyzed 53 patients of IGM who were treated with surgical excision at our hospital. Group A (n = 25) included patients treated with only surgery, and Group B included patients treated with surgery combined with postoperative Yanghe decoction. The clinical data were compared between the 2 groups, including demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes.All patients were female with a mean age of 34.6 ± 5.9 years. There were no significant differences between the groups regarding preoperative demographics or clinical characteristics. The follow-up time was comparable between the groups (13.2 ± 10.0 vs 12.0 ± 10.2 months). Patients in Group B had shorter complete remission (CR) times than patients in Group A (76.1 ± 15.2 vs 84.0 ± 12.2 days; P < .05). The CR rate was higher in Group B than in Group A (96.4% vs 76.0%; P < .05), and the recurrence rate was lower in Group B than in Group A (0% vs 16.0%; P < .05).The postoperative Yanghe decoction regimen was associated with more rapid recovery after IGM surgery. Surgical management combined with postoperative oral Yanghe decoction treatment yielded a higher CR rate and lower recurrence rate than surgery alone. The effect of traditional Chinese medicine in IGM treatment requires further study.

Granulomatous Mastitis: A Therapeutic and Diagnostic Challenge

Granulomatous mastitis (GM) is a rare benign inflammatory breast disease that affects mostly women of childbearing age with a history of breastfeeding. The etiopathogenesis is still unknown; however, inflammation as the result of a reaction to trauma, metabolic or hormonal processes, autoimmunity, and an infection with Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii have all been implicated. Clinical findings are pain, mass, hyperemia, and inflammation. Because the clinical presentation can mimic infectious mastitis or inflammatory carcinoma, the disease course is often protracted. The diagnosis is made by histopathology. Biopsies show a granulomatous formation in combination with a localized infiltration of multi-nucleated giant cells, epithelioid histiocytes, and plasma cells. Ultrasound, mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging are not specific; however, ultrasound and mammography should be done to exclude other pathologies. Due to the lack of data including randomized controlled studies, the management of GM is controversial. In Western industrialized countries, most authors use a therapy regimen starting with antibiotics and corticosteroids, followed by continuous steroid therapy and surgery in patients with persisting symptoms. More data are needed to define the best therapy. The role of immunotherapy has not yet been ascertained. The implementation of a registry to collect more information on this rare disease is highly recommended.

Granulomatous mastitis: etiology, imaging, pathology, treatment, and clinical findings

PURPOSE

To outline the demographics, clinical presentation, imaging features, and treatment modalities observed among a series of patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven granulomatous mastitis (GM).

METHOD

Following approval by institutional review board, retrospective chart review was performed on patients with biopsy-proven granulomatous mastitis at our institution in the period from January 2013 until October 2017.

RESULTS

A total of 90 patients were identified: 87 women and 3 men. The mean age was 35 years, mostly women in their reproductive age. In our study, patients with GM were more likely to be Hispanic compared to the general population. Sixty-three percent of patients were within 5 years of previous pregnancy. Painful palpable mass-like lesion was the most common physical finding. Breast ultrasound (US) was performed in all patients, and most commonly showed a hypoechoic irregular-shaped mass. Mammography (MG) showed asymmetry or irregular mass as the main finding. Definitive diagnosis was obtained by imaging-guided core needle biopsies in 94.4%. Conservative management was preferred, and only one patient underwent surgery.

CONCLUSION

Although clinical and radiological findings of patients with GM may mimic those of breast carcinoma, our study showed that women of childbearing age, especially among Hispanic ethnicity with a recent history of pregnancy or high prolactin level and newly tender mass-like lesion, in addition to new focal asymmetry on mammogram and heterogeneous hypoechoic irregular-shaped mass on ultrasound exam, should raise concern for GM. Non-invasive approach and clinical follow-up were the preferred treatment method.