The diagnosis of<unk>  and breast abscess can usually be made based on a physical examination. The doctor will also take into account the signs and symptoms of the condition. However, if the doctor is not sure whether the mass is an abscess or a tumor, a breast ultrasound may be performed. The ultrasound provides a clear image of the breast tissue and may be helpful in distinguishing between simple<unk>  and abscess or in diagnosing an abscess deep in the breast. The test consists of placing an ultrasound probe over the breast. In cases of infectious<unk> , cultures may be needed in order to determine what type of organism is causing the infection. Cultures are helpful in deciding the specific type of antibiotics that will be used in curing the disease. These cultures may be taken either from the breast milk or of the material aspirated from an abscess. Mammograms or breast biopsies are normally performed on women who do not respond to treatment or on non-breastfeeding women. This type of tests is sometimes ordered to exclude the possibility of a rare type of breast cancer which causes symptoms similar to those of<unk> . Differential diagnosis Breast cancer may coincide with or mimic symptoms of<unk> . Only full resolution of symptoms and careful examination are sufficient to exclude the diagnosis of breast cancer. Lifetime risk for breast cancer is significantly reduced for women who were pregnant and breastfeeding.<unk>  episodes do not appear to influence lifetime risk of breast cancer.<unk>  does however cause great difficulties in diagnosis of breast cancer and delayed diagnosis and treatment can result in worse outcome. Breast cancer may coincide with<unk>  or develop shortly afterwards. All suspicious symptoms that do not completely disappear within 5 weeks must be investigated. Breast cancer incidence during pregnancy and lactation is assumed to be the same as in controls. Course and prognosis are also very similar to age matched controls. However diagnosis during lactation is particularly problematic, often leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Some data suggest that noninflammatory breast cancer incidence is increased within a year following episodes of nonpuerperal<unk>  and special care is required for follow-up cancer prevention screening. So far only data from short term observation is available and total risk increase can not be judged. Because of the very short time between presentation of<unk>  and breast cancer in this study it is considered very unlikely that the inflammation had any substantial role in carcinogenesis, rather it would appear that some precancerous lesions may increase the risk of inflammation (hyperplasia causing duct obstruction, hypersensitivity to cytokines or hormones) or the lesions may have common predisposing factors. A very serious type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer presents with similar symptoms as<unk>  (both puerperal and nonpuerperal). It is the most aggressive type of breast cancer with the highest mortality rate. The inflammatory phenotype of IBC is thought to be mostly caused by invasion and blocking of dermal lymphatics, however it was recently shown that NF-κB target genes activation may significantly contribute to the inflammatory phenotype. Case reports show that inflammatory breast cancer symptoms can flare up following injury or inflammation making it even more likely to be mistaken for<unk> . Symptoms are also known to partially respond to progesterone and antibiotics, reaction to other common medications can not be ruled out at this point.
Mastitis
Breast cancer
Amurca
Breast engorgement
Pyometra
Hidradenoma
Trichodiscoma
Hydrocolpos