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Topic: Fibroadenomas

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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 31
  • Posted on: May 7, 2008 10:09 pm
holly77 wrote:
Ok this is kind of concerning. I read this and from what I gather...I am at a slightly higher risk for breast cancer because I had a very large fibroadenoma removed. Is that true?

Mortality/Morbidity

Fibroadenomas are benign lesions and are not considered to have malignant potential. However, because they contain epithelium, a risk of neoplasia exists, as in other locations in the breast. The risk of a breast carcinoma occurring within a fibroadenoma is about 3%.

  • Carcinoma is twice as likely to occur in women who have previously undergone excision of a fibroadenoma.
  • The relative risk of carcinoma is increased in women who have fibroadenomas associated with cysts, sclerosing adenosis, calcifications, or papillary apocrine change.
  • Juvenile fibroadenomas, otherwise called giant fibroadenomas, are rapidly growing benign tumors that occur in female adolescents. These tumors are cured with excision.
Posts 1 - 4 (4 total)
RedWeasel
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 31
May 8, 2008 09:42 am RedWeasel wrote:

As i understand it from my reading, the increased risk is due to the idea that a very tiny carcinoma (too small to detect) can irritate nearby breast tissue, and this irritation can cause a fibroadenoma.  In this case, it's possible for the fibroadenoma to be visible and removed, while the carcinoma itself remains miniscule and hidden (and, i should add, rather harmless).  Of course, this isn't the only cause, or even the most common cause of fibroadenomas, but it is one possibility.  This is why women with a history of fibroadenoma should be monitored more carefully and regularly for potentially developing b/c. 

For the record, i am not a doctor or a nurse or any sort of medical professional.  But i was just diagnosed with a very rare breast condition, and i'm sort of a hyper-researcher by nature (i'm an information hound), so i've been sifting through tons of writings lately on benign breast abnormalities.

i actually need to leave for the breast surgeon soon, but if you like, i can look up an actual reference for the fibroadenoma-carcinoma link i described above for you, so you can read more yourself (written by actual trained professionals).
holly77
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 31
May 9, 2008 12:33 am holly77 wrote:

That would be great redweasel! Yeah that is what worries me mostly because mine was so large and the radiologists report state that one my size has the chance of being cancerous. I go in tomorrow for a new diagnostic mammogram at 10am. I got my old films back and I haven't had one since Nov 2006. I had a recent ultrasoun done in 2007 though. Crossing my fingers that everything is still ok.
RedWeasel
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 31
May 9, 2008 09:44 am RedWeasel wrote:

i tried to find the article i'd been referring to here, but haven't come up with it yet.

However, i did find this study, which is probably more dependable anyhow, and will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the connection between fibroadenoma and cancer risk:  http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/331/1/10

The whole article is very long, but the information you're most interested in is summed up in the "Discussion" section at the end.
holly77
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 31
May 13, 2008 09:59 pm holly77 wrote:

Thank you red!

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