Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis - a new approach in diagnostics and treatment

Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare inflammatory breast disease mimicking carcinoma and puerperal or non-puerperal mastitis. The primary purpose of this prospectively performed case control study was to compare clinical and imaging signs of IGM with the reference group of nonspecific, non- puerperal mastitis (NM) to identify the most typical clinical and imaging signs essential for a correct differential diagnosis. The secondary purpose was to present a new approach to non-invasive treatment. Thirty-nine women with histologically proven IGM and twenty-six patients with nonspecific mastitis underwent clinical examination, breast ultrasound (US), mammography (MG) and MRI examination. The most typical signs were selected for each group and method; followed by a statistical evaluation. The effectivity of colchicine, vitamin E and ribwort plantain tincture in treatment was assessed by clinical examination and imaging. Typical clinical signs of IGM included unilateral acute onset of breast edema, redness, palpable masses, missing fever, lymphadenopathy, no response to antibiotics or surgical interventions. Ultrasound revealed: "finger-like" structures (100%), ductectasias (76.9%), abscesses (76.9%) and lymphadenopathy (15.4%), while in MRI skin and tissue edema (100%), multicentric lesions (100%), abscesses (76.9%), ring enhancement (84.6%), lymphadenopathy (15.4%) and small enhancing lymph nodes (38.5%) were observed. Among the clinical signs, fistulas, hypoechoic mass, ductectasias and diffusion weighted images (DWI) restriction were significantly more frequent in patients with IGM than in those with NM. Treatment effectivity yielded 100% with a complete response between 6-19 months, depending on the disease extent. Targeted questions together with imaging can speed up selection for proper treatment with colchicine, vitamin E and local treatment. Long lasting use of antibiotics and repeated surgical interventions should be avoided.