Giant cell arteritis of the breast

Abstract

Objective: To report a rare case of giant cell arteritis of the breast in a 56-year-old woman. Clinical Presentation and Intervention: The patient presented with tenderness in the upper outer quadrant of the left breast, in the absence of any constitutional symptoms. A diagnosis of giant cell arteritis was made only after surgical wedge excision of the affected breast quadrant. She returned 6 weeks later with tenderness in the upper inner medial quadrant of the same breast, with a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate. She has since been referred to the rheumatologist for further management. Conclusion: The diagnosis of giant cell arteritis of the breast was made only after pathological examination of the excised breast tissue. This study focused attention on the need to be aware of systemic conditions that may present as localised lesions of the breast and to maintain a high index of clinical suspicion in order to adequately investigate them and perhaps avoid unnecessary radical surgical intervention such as mastectomy.