Exploring the Case Proportion and Etiology of Chronic Mastitis in Morocco and Egypt
AUTHORS: HN Oltean, AS Soliman, M Karkouri, A Hablas, SD Meravjer
OBJECTIVES:
Chronic mastitis is a name given to a group of disorders, all involving inflammation of the breast for a prolonged period of time. Etiologies are diverse and include such wide-ranging disease states and pathological factors as diabetes, lupus erythematosus, Mycobactrium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. Preliminary data from a current and ongoing Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) study indicates that women with IBC compared to those with non-IBC breast cancer are much more likely to have experienced non-malignant breast problems (such as mastitis) in the past. Very little is known about the risk factors or causes of these non-malignant breast conditions or about their case proportion among all breast conditions seen at major hospitals. This study will investigate the case proportion and etiology of chronic mastitis in Morocco and Egypt, as a basic understanding of this inflammatory condition may eventually lead to better cancer prevention efforts.
METHODS:
Women who have been histopathologically confirmed to have experienced one of the following forms of mastitis over the past three years will be included in the study: chronic mastitis, duct ectasia with mastitis, periductal mastitis, or lymphocytic mastitis. Controls will be collected by recruiting women who have experienced the following breast conditions in the past three years: fibroadenoma, benign phylloides, or adenosis. Slides from associated paraffin tissue blocks will be cut and transported to a laboratory at the University of Michigan, where they will be examined to determine etiology of the mastitis. DNA will be extracted from the tissue samples and tested for sequence homology to the env gene of Mammary Tumor Virus by Southern blot. Clinical and epidemiological information will also be collected and complete profiles of diagnosis and treatment will be determined, both through use of medical records and by contacting the women and conducting a follow-up interview.
Epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory data will be analyzed to determine the case proportion of mastitis in the areas of research, common risk factors for mastitis, and the prevalence of mammary tumor virus among the samples.
PUBLICATIONS:
Oltean HN, Soliman AS, et al. Risk factors for chronic mastitis in Morocco and Egypt. Int J Inflam. 2013; 2013: