Sonographic features of inflammatory conditions of the breast

Abstract

Inflammatory conditions of the breast can be a diagnostic challenge, and ultrasound is a proven valuable tool in this setting. In acute infective conditions, ultrasound is often a superior tool to mammography due to the impracticality of applying compression to the breast and the increased parenchymal density of these often younger patients. Although infective processes comprise the majority of inflammatory conditions in the breast, not infrequently other various disease processes can masquerade as infections. In particular, inflammatory breast cancer can be easily misdiagnosed as an infective process and sonography can play an important role in expediting the correct diagnosis. Furthermore, aspiration, drainage and biopsy are frequently required in managing breast inflammation and breast disease generally, and ultrasound is the most practical imaging modality facilitating such interventions. This article provides a review of the ultrasound characteristics of some of the more frequently encountered inflammatory disorders of the breast which span a spectrum of acute to chronic conditions. The various conditions in this report are described in terms of their specific sonographic imaging features as well as pathogenesis, common clinical presentations, and aspects of management are outlined where appropriate.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa-Induced Breast Abscess and Congenital Nipple Inversion Mimicking Inflammatory Breast Cancer with Review of the Literature

“…11 One uncommon mimicker of IBC is a tuberculosis mass. 13 Because these masses are frequently fixated to the skin and/or chest well, they can be confused with inflammatory breast cancer. Features that may favor tuberculosis include a chronic history of months to years, as well as possible constitutional symptoms of tuberculosis, such as malaise pyrexia and night sweats.…”

“…There were 15 papers that met this final criteria. Of the 15 results that met our search criteria for mimickers of IBC, five articles discussed idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM), [6][7][8][9][10] two articles discussed primary lymphoma of the breast, [11][12] and one article each discussed: tuberculosis masses, 13 necrotizing fasciitis, 14 arthropod bite mastitis, 15 vasculitis, 16 postsurgical changes, 17 postradiation dermatitis, 18 morphea, 19 and HSassociated lymphedema. 20 Several additional mimickers of IBC were identified using literature cited by the articles from our search.…”

Malignant Mastitis

“…US aksilladaki kortikal kalınlaşma gösteren büyümüş metastatik lenfadenopatileri de kolaylıkla saptayabilir. US İMK tanısında olduğu gibi, memede doğru yerden ve aksiller lenfadenopatilerden biyopsi yapılmasına ya da NAK öncesi tümör işaretleyicisi yerleştirilmesine rehberlik ederek İMK yönetiminde vazgeçilmez radyolojik yöntemdir [5,6].…”

Radiological Findings of Breast Inflammation

“…Normal lenf düğümlerinde kortikal kalınlık genellikle 4 mm'den daha azdır. Buna karşılık, metastatik karakterdeki lenf nodları genellikle düzensiz kortikal kalınlaşma ve yağlı hilumun kaybı veya yerine geçmesi şeklinde saptanır (Resim 7) [6,7]. Sonuç olarak, meme inflamasyonun klinik bulguları benign ve malign hastalıklarda benzerdir.…”