Granulomatous angiopanniculitis of the breast

Polyarteritis nodosa of the breast: presentation and management

Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) of the breast is a rare condition where literature review identified eleven patients so far. The clinical presentation ranged from localized disease involving the breast parenchyma and skin only to breast manifestations as part of systemic PAN. The diagnosis of PAN could be challenging as it can mimic breast cancer, inflammatory carcinomatosis or breast infection including mastitis and necrotizing fasciitis. The key importance is accurate diagnosis to avoid unnecessary other treatment modalities and the timely recognition of PAN in cases of localized forms. The authors present three new cases which represent the full range of the clinical spectrum and their management.

Vasculitis involving the breast: a clinical and histopathologic analysis of 34 patients

Vasculitis of the breast (VB) may be an isolated finding or a manifestation of systemic vasculitis. In the current study we sought to characterize isolated VB (IVB) and compare it to VB in the setting of systemic vasculitis. We studied VB cases in the literature and patients cared for at our institution. We analyzed clinical, laboratory, and histologic features (including vessel size and type of inflammatory infiltrates); course of illness; biopsy procedure; and treatment. Based on the presence of localized or systemic disease at the time of disease presentation and during the follow-up, we divided patients into 3 groups: IVB (Group 1), VB with proven or indirect evidence of systemic vasculitis (Group 2), and VB with possible systemic involvement (Group 3). We identified a total of 34 cases of VB (30 from PubMed [National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD] and 4 from our pathology database). All patients presented with breast lesions, which were the only expression of disease in 16 (47%). Eighteen, 6, and 10 patients belonged to Group 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Constitutional symptoms were present less often in Group 1. Musculoskeletal symptoms occurred only in Groups 2 and 3. Patients in Groups 2 and 3 had higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates and lower hemoglobin levels, and also received corticosteroids more frequently than those in Group 1. No differences were found in the other analyzed parameters between groups. In summary, VB is uncommon, and in about half of the cases, occurs in the form of IVB. Histologic characteristics do not correlate with disease extent. In IVB patients, constitutional and musculoskeletal manifestations are usually absent. Such patients generally do not require systemic therapy and may be cured by resection alone.

Systemic vasculitis presenting as a tumorlike lesion. Four case reports and an analysis of 79 reported cases

Systemic vasculitis might present as a tumorlike lesion that initially could misdirect the correct diagnosis and the appropriate medical treatment. The aim of the present study is to summarize all reported cases of tumorlike presentation in systemic vasculitides, in order to have comprehensive data on the characteristics of this unusual phenomenon. We report 4 cases of systemic vasculitis presenting as a tumorlike lesion. In addition, we performed a MEDLINE search of all English-language papers published from 1966 to 1999, looking for vasculitis presenting as tumorlike lesion. Details were included concerning vasculitis classification, specific characteristics, location of the "tumor," the presence or absence of systemic involvement, and whether surgery was performed before diagnosis. Seventy-nine cases of vasculitis presenting as a tumorlike lesion were found in the literature, in addition to the 4 new cases described. The average age of the reported cases was 50.5 +/- 15.8 years, and 51% were female. In 82% of the cases the "tumor" was associated with constitutional symptoms and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The most common vasculitis categories with tumorlike presentation were Wegener granulomatosis (WG; 28 cases) and giant cell arteritis (GCA; 17 cases). In almost half the patients, surgery was performed before diagnosis. All patients with GCA presented with either a breast or an ovarian tumor. The most common location of a tumorlike lesion was the breast (22%), followed by central nervous system lesions (16%). Other frequent locations were the ovary (10%), caused exclusively by GCA and polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), and the male genitourinary system, almost all caused by PAN. Including vasculitis in the differential diagnosis of a tumorlike lesion might lead to an earlier diagnosis and consequently to prompt and appropriate treatment, avoiding needless operations. Constitutional symptoms and elevated ESR should alert clinicians to the possible diagnosis of vasculitis rather than a tumor. The association of GCA with ovarian pseudotumor is distinct and has not been emphasized before. We therefore suggest that GCA should be included in the list of differential diagnosis of an ovarian or breast tumor in an elderly woman, particularly when systemic symptoms and parameters of inflammation are present.

Utility of fine-needle aspiration in the diagnosis of granulomatous lesions of the breast

Fourteen cases of granulomatous mastitis (GM) studied by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) are reviewed and nine cytologic features (necrosis, neutrophil granulocytes, foamy cells, plasma cells, granulomas, epitheloid cells, multinucleated giant cells of foreign body type and Langhans' type, duct cells, and the presence of acid-fast bacilli) are reappraised in a semiquantitative manner. The main objective of this study was to find out if one or more of these features would permit the various granulomatous entities identified in surgical pathology to be separated cytologically. The results suggest that FNA does not permit the various granulomatous lesions identified in surgical pathology to be differentiated, since in this series different entities share a common cytologic pattern. Only the presence of acid fast bacilli in smears would enable a tuberculous etiology to be diagnosed. The opinion is put forward that the term GM should be avoided in the cytologic report and substituted by the noncommitted term "granulomatous lesion of the breast.

Localized polyarteritis nodosa of breast--report of two cases and a review of the literature

Two patients with localized polyarteritis nodosa involving the breast are reported. They presented with tender breast masses which were excised because of suspicion of carcinoma. The pathological features were similar with vasculitis of medium-sized and small arteries. The medium-sized arteries showed intimal fibroplasia, fragmentation of internal elastic lamina and inflammatory cellular infiltration. Fibrinoid vasculitis involving small arteries indicated a diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa rather than giant cell arteritis. Both patients remain well. The differential diagnosis of these two arteritides and of Wegener's granulomatosis involving the breast is reviewed.