BOSTON-Hard-to-image breast lumps may be another complication of longstanding Type 1 diabetes.
A Mayo team has diagnosed diabetic mastopathy in 16 women with poor glucose control who were seen for recurrent dominant breast nodules. All but one also had diabetic retinopathy, and 56% had cheiroarthropathy, says endocrinologist Timothy O’Brien.
The mastopathy is characterized by lobular and perivascular lymphocytic infiltration and diffuse keloidal stromal fibrosis, making interpretation of mammograms and sonograms difficult. Biopsy was needed for 14 women, and six needed more than one biopsy. One had five.
In its report to the American Diabetes Association meeting here, the Mayo team said that none of the patients has developed breast cancer after an average of seven years’ follow-up. The infiltrates are mostly B cells, and the researchers suspect another autoimmune disorder.
