Breast and Cervix Uteri: Rare Locations for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infections and Complications-Cases Report and Literature Review

Breast and cervix uteri are rare locations for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MbT) infection and MbT association to cervical cancer is more rare in European countries. This chapter analyses two cases of rare locations of tuberculosis (TB) in young Romanian women. The first patient presented a chronic primary TB breast abscess, non-pregnancy related with periods of apparent healing and repeated areolar fistula formation. In the second case, the unexpected discovery of secondary TB endocervical granulomatous inflammation with caseous necrosis on a radical hysterectomy specimen, performed after chemoradiotherapy for squamous non-keratinizing cell carcinoma is presented. Worldwide incidence, risk factors, hypothetic mechanisms of primary/secondary breast and cervix uteri MbT infection, the association to high-risk HPV, microbiological diagnosis difficulties, the differentials to pyogenic abscesses, other chronic granulomas and breast cancer treatment issues are presented in the reviewed literature, focusing on the peculiarities of these rare locations and complications. It is recalled an old concept of “therapeutic antitubercular” test when all other assessments steps are usefulness