FIBROADENOMA

OF THE BREAST
 FIBROADENOMA
 Fibroadenoma is the most common benign breast tumor, mostly
in young women. It consists in two components (epithelial and
fibroblastic), estrogen-dependent, slowly growing.
 Fibroadenomas can often feel like a marble within the breast.
Some fibroadenomas are too small to be felt, but some are
several inches across.
 Fibroadenomas tend to be round and have clear-cut borders.
You can move them under the skin and they’re usually firm or
rubbery, but not tender.
 A woman can have one or many fibroadenomas.
 Gross examination: most
often it is a solitary small
sized (3 - 4 cm.) nodule, well
circumscribed, firm, mobile
(it doesnt infiltrate the
teguments or the deep
structures fat tissue or
skeletal muscle).
 On cut surface, the tumor is
white-greyish, lobulated or
cauliflower-like resemblance,
with a whorl-like pattern and
irregularly slit-like spaces.
DIAGNOSIS:
 Some fibroadenomas can be felt, but some are only found on an
imaging test (like a mammogram or ultrasound).
 A biopsy (taking out breast tissue to check it in the lab) is needed
to know if a tumor is a fibroadenoma or some other problem.
 Most fibroadenomas look the same all over when seen under a
microscope and are called simple fibroadenomas. But some
fibroadenomas have other changes, too, and are called complex
fibroadenomas. (Complex fibroadenomas tend to be bigger and
tend to occur in older patients.)
 A physical examination will be conducted and your breasts will be
palpated (examined manually). A breast ultrasound or
mammogram imaging test may also be ordered.
ETIOLOGY
 The exact cause of fibroadenomas isn’t known.
 Hormones such as estrogen may play a part in the growth and
development of the tumors.
 Taking oral contraceptives before the age of 20 has been
associated with a higher risk of developing fibroadenomas as
well.
 These tumors may grow, particularly during pregnancy. During
menopause, they often shrink. It’s also possible for
fibroadenomas to resolve on their own.
 Higher intake of fruits and vegetables, higher number of live
births, lower use of oral contraceptives and moderate exercise
are associated with lower frequency of fibroadenomas.
PATHOGENESIS:
 The epithelial component is hormonally responsive and there is
typically increase in size due to lactational changes during
pregnancy.
 Such increases in size may be complicated by infarction and
inflammation, and may raise a false suspicion of carcinoma.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
 ANUNA
HISTOPATHOLOGIC FINDINGS:
 Fibroadenoma is nodular and encapsulated, included in breast.
 The epithelial proliferation appears in a single terminal ductal
unit and describes duct-like spaces surrounded by a fibroblastic
stroma.
 Depending on the proportion and the relationship between these
two components, there are two main histological features :
Intracanalicular and Pericanalicular.
 Often, both types are found in the same tumor.
 HISTOPATHOLOGIC FINDINGS:

 Intracanalicular fibroadenoma (photo A) : stromal proliferation predominates and

compresses the ducts, which are irregular, reduced to slits.
 Pericanalicular fibroadenoma (photo B) : fibrous stroma proliferates around the ductal
spaces, so that they remain round or oval, on cross section. The basement membrane
is intact.
HISTOPATHOLOGIC FINDINGS:
HISTOPATHOLOGIC FINDINGS: