Surgical treatment for primary mammary tuberculosis-report of three octogenarian cases and review of literature.

摘要

To the Editor: Mammary tuberculosis was first reported by Sir Astley Cooper in 1829 (1). Tuberculosis in the breast is such a rare entity (<0.1% of breast lumps in developed country), that it infrequently enters the differential diagnosis of patients with lesions of the breast (2). Tuberculosis of breast might be primary, or more common (>60%), spread directly, through hematoge-neous or lymphatic routes from other sites (3). It usually occurs in women of reproductive age, and rarely in males, prepubescent or elderly women (1). Mammary tuberculosis most commonly occurred in women in the age group 20-50 years, and who have born children and lactated (4). Up to one-third of such patients were in the lactated stage (5,6). Elderly women and men with such disease have been extremely rarely reported (<4% in male or patients older than 60 years of age) previously (1,6).Herein we report three aged patients (>80 years), including two males, who underwent surgical resec.-tion for uncontrolled breast infection or indeterminate breast lump. Their demographic data, clinical presentations, and treatment strategies are listed in Table 1.Patients with mammary tuberculosis can present with a breast lesion with or without discharge sinus. These breast lesions can be classified into the nodular, disseminated, or sclerosing pattern (7).