ABSTRACT
Objective: Granulomatous mastitis (GM), including idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) and tuberculous mastitis (TBM), is a rare and benign disease of the breast. Our aim is to highlight the nonspecific clinical presentations, diagnostic difficulties and therapeutic approaches of GM.
Methods: Sixty-eight women with GM (52 with IGM and 16 withTBM) were included in the study. All clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods, and therapeutic approaches were evaluated in detail.
Results: The patients with IGM had earlier onset in comparison to the patients with TBM. Suspicion of malignancy clinically was more frequent in patients with TBM than in those with IGM. While anti-TB therapy was quite effective in TBM patients, surgical excision had the lowest recurrence rate in patients with IGM.
Conclusion: GM usually poses a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the physicians. TB is still an important cause of GM, and should be always kept in mind in the differential diagnosis.Due to the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to avoid mistakes and to obtain well outcomes.
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