Abstract Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a chronic granulomatous disease of the breast with unknown etiology. Clinical features of IGM overlap with features of breast carcinoma. Fine needle aspiration cytology may be misleading in a few cases. However, a confirmatory diagnosis is made from the core needle biopsy or excision biopsy. Steroids and immunosuppressive medications are the primary modality of treatment. Surgery is the better option for a patient who fails to respond to steroid or immunosuppressive treatment. Surgery will remove the disease pathology, and sometimes it may also remove invasive carcinoma, which may occur concurrently with IGM.
Pandiaraja et al. (2026) studied this question.