Sonoelastography findings for idiopathic granulomatous mastitis

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Pathology

Background:

• Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) presents clinical and radiological features that often resemble breast carcinoma.
• Accurate differentiation is crucial for appropriate patient management and avoiding unnecessary invasive procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the sonoelastography findings in patients with pathologically confirmed IGM.
• To evaluate the utility of sonoelastography in differentiating IGM from malignant breast lesions.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective study analyzed sonoelastography data from 27 female patients with pathologically proven IGM.
• Key parameters evaluated included elasticity scores (ES), strain ratios (SR), and elastic diameters (ED).

Main Results:

• Lesion appearances on ultrasonography varied: 37.0% diffuse, 22.2% tubular, 22.2% mass-like, and 18.5% cystic.
• Mean ES was 1.66 ± 0.55 and mean SR was 1.10 ± 0.79.
• No significant difference in elastic diameter was observed between grey-scale and sonoelastogram images.

Conclusions:

• Sonoelastography reveals distinct features for IGM.
• The findings suggest that IGM is benign in nature.
• This imaging modality may aid in distinguishing IGM from breast cancer.