Analysis of the Clinical Characteristics and Ultrasonographic Features in 141 Cases of Cystic Neutrophilic Granulomatous Mastitis

Rationale and objectives: To summarize the clinical features and ultrasonic characteristics of patients with cystic neutrophilic granulomatous mastitis (CNGM), and to enhance the understanding of CNGM in clinical practice.

Materials and methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the demographic data, clinical symptoms, and ultrasonic characteristics of 141 patients diagnosed with CNGM through pathological examination. This study was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2023BL02-054-01).

Results: CNGM is more common in women of childbearing age. Clinically, the majority of CNGM patients presented with breast lumps, redness, swelling, ulceration, nipple discharge, and nipple retraction. Some patients also exhibited systemic symptoms such as erythema nodosum, fever, and cough. Ultrasonically, CNGM was characterized by irregular, hypoechoic areas with unclear margins. Additional features included liquefaction areas within the hypoechoic areas, subcutaneous extension, tissue thickening, ductal dilatation, and axillary lymph node enlargement. Among the 141 cases, CNGM patients were classified into four types based on the nature and extent of the lesions: 87 cases of diffuse abscess type, 49 cases of patchy hypoechoic type, 2 cases of localized hypoechoic type, and 3 cases of localized abscess type.

Conclusion: This study describes the clinical features, ultrasound manifestations and their various subtypes, and microbial identification of patients with CNGM, which will help to better identify CNGM as a potential diagnostic entity with important implications for subsequent treatment.

Data availability statement: The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.