Mansab Ali, Javed Asghar Magsi, Khawaja Khurshid Ahmad, Rana H.
Granulomatous mastitis: a review of 18 cases.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;4(1):49-52.

Background: The significance of breast tuberculosis is due to rare occurrence and mistaken identity with breast cancer and pyogenic breast abscess. We present a case series of 18 patients with caseating granulomatous mastitis, seen over a 4 year period (Feb, 2003 to Nov, 2006) from Social Security Hospital / Gulab Devi Chest Hospital / private set up Lahore Methods: The cases were retrieved using medical records. There clinical, radiological and pathological data was reviewed. Cases with a histological diagnosis of granulomatous mastitis were included. The average age at presentation was 31.6 years [range 16-55 years]. The most common presentation was a lump in the upper outer quadrant of the breast. Diagnosis was obtained via fine needle aspiration (12 cases), core biopsy (2 cases), incision biopsy (1 case) and excision biopsy (3 cases). Acid-fast bacilli were seen on AFB culture in 4 out of the 18 patients. All 18 patients completed treatment at our centers and were followed. Conclusions: Granulomatous mastitis is an uncommon disease and typically presents with a lump in the breast. The diagnosis can be established by fine needle cytology in the majority of cases. Acid-fast bacilli are seen in a minority of the cases.

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