Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis: an inflammatory breast cancer simulator, a great diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.
Keywords:
Palabras clave: mastitis granulomatosa idiopática, absceso de mama, cáncer inflamatorio de mama, terapia esteroidea.Abstract
Introduction: Granulomatous mastitis is a benign breast disease characterized by the formation of granulomas in the lobules. It occurs in women of reproductive age, commonly with a history of breastfeeding. It manifests as the formation of abscesses or tumors. Diagnosis requires a biopsy and the exclusion of certain infectious processes and autoimmune diseases. Treatment is controversial; antimicrobials, steroids, immunosuppressants, biologic therapy, and surgery have been used.Objective: To describe the case of a patient diagnosed with erythema nodosum and enlargement in the left breast.Case presentation: A 24-year-old female patient was admitted to the Internal Medicine Department with a diagnosis of erythema nodosum associated with a tumor, pain, redness, and discharge from a lesion in the left breast. She had previously undergone surgery to drain an abscess. A biopsy was taken from the tumor area in the operating room, revealing a diagnosis of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis. She was treated with steroid therapy until resolution.
Conclusions: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis is a rare condition that affects women of childbearing age and is difficult to diagnose due to the complexity of its clinical presentation. It can be confused with malignant breast lesions such as inflammatory carcinoma. Diagnosis requires optimal multidisciplinary work and close follow-up of patients with the condition. It is a disease that not only affects the aesthetics of our patients but also causes psychological disorders in young, sexually active women, who associate these symptoms with the tragedy of cancer.
Keywords: idiopathic granulomatous mastitis, breast abscess, inflammatory breast cancer, steroid therapy.
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