Magnetic resonance imaging findings of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis: can it be an indirect sign of treatment success or fail?

Excerpt

Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare idiopathic benign inflammatory disease of the breast that is characterized by the formation of non-necrotizing granulomas and sterile micro-abscesses [1]. Although several treatment options are available for IGM, there is no well-established treatment algorithm for the disease [2]. Antibiotics, surgical drainage, a partial mastectomy, steroids and methotrexate are among the treatment modalities. Although good results have been achieved with the available modalities in some patients, treatment success has not been achieved in a large number of patients, who then require a mastectomy. To date, only a few studies have investigated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of IGM [3‐5]. According to the literature, morphological and contrast-enhancement features on MRI in cases of IGM show great variety, depending on the IGM stages [e.g. inflammatory reactions, abscesses and fibrosis [4, 5]. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the potential importance of MRI findings in predicting treatment success. The aim of the present study was to determine whether MRI findings could play a role in predicting treatment success or guiding the choice of treatment. …