Fibroadenomas

Fibroadenomas are benign solid lumps commonly found in young women and may develop up to the age of menopause. Usually fibroadenomas are not painful although there are exceptions.  Fibroadenomas have a characteristic appearance on ultrasound, usually displaying an oval shape with a solid centre (grey on ultrasound). If they present as a lump or if their appearance on ultrasound is not typical then needle biopsy (fine needle or core biopsy) should be performed.  Fibroadenomas may enlarge overtime. If this growth is rapid or if they become quite large, for example over 3 cm, then removal or repeat biopsy may be necessary to exclude breast cancer or other unusual tumours such as phyllodes tumours. 

Some women may develop many fibroadenomas in each breast and it is impractical to biopsy each one. In this setting monitoring with regular ultrasound or possibly breast MRI can be performed. Fibroadenomas do not significantly increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.