Ahmad Kaviani - Department of Surgery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran- Department of Surgical Oncology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada- Breast Disease Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mahtab Vasigh - Department of Surgery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran- Breast Disease Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM), alsocalled idiopathic lobular mastitis, is a rare, benigninflammatory condition of the breast with currentlyunknown etiology. The cornerstone of the design of aclinical trial relies on the type and the severity of theclinical findings and the response to the treatmentstrategy applied. Without a standard classification,we may not expect to accomplish uniforminvestigations in different centres. According to theconsiderable experience of the authors andconsidering our previous publications, we suggest aclassification in four grades according to the clinicalmanifestation (inflammatory, cutaneous, soft tissue,and systemic findings). Severity can predict thetreatment response, so we suggest the therapeuticmodalities be chosen based on this factor.Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM), alsocalled idiopathic lobular mastitis, is a rare, benigninflammatory condition of the breast with currentlyunknown etiology. The course of the disease issometimes chronic and devastating for the patients.It mostly affects women of childbearing age with ahistory of pregnancy or lactation within the last fiveyears of the onset of the disease. This is a rarecondition in developed countries; however, it ismore prevalent in developing counties. Recentlythere has been an increase in the number of studies inthis regard. The reports mostly come from middle-east countries, including Iran and Turkey.

Clinical Presentation