Can it be confused with cancer
Granulomatous mastitis is not cancer. But it imitates cancer closely on examination, on ultrasound and on mammography alike. That is why patients can spend months with the wrong diagnosis.
It is usually seen in women in their thirties who have given birth and breastfed. There is redness, a firm lump, abscess formation, openings that discharge and inflammation that simply will not heal. It recurs often.
Diagnosis and treatment
The definite diagnosis is made by tru-cut biopsy alone. Treatment calls for patience. Surgery used to be recommended straight away; today we know that unnecessary, wide operations make the condition worse.
Corticosteroids and immune-modulating drugs form the basis of treatment.
Where an abscess has formed, it is drained under ultrasound guidance.
In patients who do not respond, limited surgery comes onto the agenda; wide operations are avoided.
Follow-up by an experienced surgeon matters in this condition. Treatment can take between six months and a year, but it resolves completely.