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. 2025 Feb;194(1):271-276.
doi: 10.1007/s11845-024-03857-5. Epub 2024 Dec 17.

Five-year follow-up of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis

Mehmet Nur Kaya  1 , Emre Tekgöz  2 , Seda Çolak  2 , Özlem Kılıç  2 , Muhammet Çınar  2 , Sedat Yılmaz  2
Affiliations

Five-year follow-up of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis

Mehmet Nur Kaya et al. Ir J Med Sci. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a benign and rare chronic inflammatory disease of the breast. Although there are various treatment modalities, an ideal treatment algorithm has not been defined.

Aims: We designed this study to evaluate the clinical status, duration of remission, remission rates, and treatment algorithm in patients with IGM during a 5-year follow-up period after immunosuppressive therapy.

Methods: This study was planned retrospectively in the rheumatology outpatient clinic including 63 patients with biopsy-proven IGM. Demographic characteristics, clinical findings, treatment options, and drug-free remission periods after treatment were obtained from the patient's records.

Results: The mean age of female patients with IGM was 36.4 ± 6.1 years. Remission was achieved in all patients receiving immunosuppressive treatment and the median remission period was 13.9 months. After 5 years of follow-up, the median remission time without medication was 46.1 months. There was a significant improvement in the laboratory parameters and clinical findings of the patients. The most preferred immunosuppressive agent in all patients was methotrexate, and the second was azathioprine.

Conclusion: During the 5-year follow-up period, no recurrence after immunosuppressive therapy was detected in IGM patients. As seen in the treatment management chart, methotrexate provided remission in the majority of patients.

Keywords: Azathioprine; Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis; Methotrexate; Remission.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: This study was granted approval by the Ethics Committee of Health Sciences University, Gulhane Training and Research Hospital within the framework of the Declaration of Helsinki (Date: 13.09.2023 and Decision number: 2023/201). Consent to participate: Informed consent (verbal due to nature of the study) has been obtained from all participants. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

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