title: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis: Long-discussed but yet-to-be-known.
abstract: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a chronic benign inflammatory disease of the breast with unknown etiology. It is an important diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, as most patients were initially misdiagnosed by their primary care physicians, leading to diagnostic confusion and heightened anxiety. Although several triggers have been proposed for development of IGM, the etiologic association of neither of them has been documented. Three main hypotheses about the possible causes of IGM have been suggested, including autoimmune response, infectious disease, and hormonal disruption. Here, we discuss a hypothetical perspective of IGM to explain the possible role of autoinflammation in the pathogenesis of the disease. We also reviewed the previously published literature on pathogenesis of IGM.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious Diseases .
authors.forename: Fereshte
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sheybani
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious Diseases .
authors.forename: Hamid Reza
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Naderi
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pathology , and.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gharib
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious Diseases .
authors.forename: MohammadReza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarvghad
authors.affiliation: c Rheumatic Diseases Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences , Mashhad , Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mirfeizi
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D058890:Granulomatous Mastitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans
keywords: Autoimmunity; autoinflammation; developing countries; granulomatous mastitis; infectious hypothesis