Biomedical Indicators of Patients with Non-Puerperal Mastitis: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: Non-puerperal mastitis (NPM), a recurrent chronic inflammation of non-lactating breast, often proves tremendous difficulty in treatment, and it may give rise to its complicated symptoms and unclear etiology. Furthermore, the clinical morbidity rate of NPM has been increasing in recent years.

Methods: Overall, 284 patients diagnosed with NPM were consecutively recruited as cases in this study, and patients with benign breast disease (n = 1128) were enrolled as control. The clinical, biomedical, and pathological indicators were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic analysis were used to distinguish risks between NPM and benign breast mass patients. Furthermore, according to the pathological characteristics, the patients of NPM were classified into two subgroups: mammary duct ectasia (MDE) and granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM). The differences of biomedical indicators between MDE and GLM groups were also analyzed.

Results: Compared with benign breast mass group, the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) significantly decreased, while lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) and blood glucose (GLU) both increased in NPM group. According to univariate and multivariate logistic analysis, the onset age and HDL-C were generally decreased, while Lp(a) and GLU were increased in NPM group. The onset age, HDL-C, Lp(a), and GLU were modeled to distinguish NPM and benign breast mass. Significant differences were also observed between MDE and GLM patients in biomedical indicators, such as lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), total cholesterol (TC), and so on.

Conclusions: Our results indicated for the first time that biomarkers were associated with NPM. The biomedical indicators involved in lipid metabolism might be important factors in the development and treatment of NPM. In addition, MDE and GLM are two diseases with different inflammatory states of NPM. These findings would be helpful for a better understanding of NPM and give us some insights to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: biomedical indicators; granulomatous lobular mastitis; lipid metabolism; mammary duct ectasia; non-puerperal mastitis.

Figure 1

ROC of model parameters to distinguish NPM and benign breast mass.

Figure 2

Representative illustrations of MDE and GLM. (A) Low-power magnification of MDE (HE, ×40). (B) Medium-power magnification of MDE (HE, ×100). (C) High-power magnification of MDE (HE, ×200). (D) Low-power magnification of GLM (HE, ×40). (E) Medium-power magnification of GLM (HE, ×100). (F) High-power magnification of GLM (HE, ×200).