Diabetic mastopathy, complication of Type 1 diabetes mellitus: Report of two cases and a review of the literature

The breast is not classically included among the organs damaged by diabetic complications. The first cases of breast lesions associated with Type 1 di abetes mellitus were only described in 1984. The disease, designated as dia betic or fibrous mastopathy, is benign but may clinically simulate breast c arcinoma. Its frequency is difficult to evaluate, and its pathogenesis is n ot yet clearly understood. We report two new cases of diabetic mastopathy, together with a review of the medical literature on this subject and a desc ription of the main characteristics of the disease. Diagnosis is based on t he clinical context (premenopausal women with longstanding Type I diabetes mellitus who develop a hard, painless, mobile lump on one or both breasts), radiology (dense glandular tissue on mammography and marked acoustical sha dowing of sound waves on sonography), and histopathology (fibrosis and peri vascular and periductal lymphocytic infiltration).