Should benign breast tumors be removed?

In recent years, the incidence of breast tumors is relatively high, which poses a great threat to women's health. Breast tumors can be benign or malignant. If it has been determined to be benign and relatively small, then surgery is not required, but regular follow-up examinations are required. If the tumor grows rapidly, surgery should be considered. Appropriate examinations should be conducted in a timely manner, and emphasis should be placed on maintenance in daily life.

Clinical manifestations

Breast fibroadenomas are more common in young women. Patients often accidentally discover painless lumps in their breasts. This can occur on one side or both sides. One breast can have a single or multiple lumps. It is painless or only has slight distension and dull pain. The pain and size are not related to the menstrual cycle. Common fibroadenomas generally grow slowly, and most stop growing after reaching a certain size. Their diameter usually does not exceed 3 cm.

The tumors are mostly round or oval in shape, nodular, firm in texture, and smooth in surface. Most have clear boundaries, good mobility, and a sliding sensation upon palpation. However, a few tumors have unclear boundaries with surrounding tissues and limited mobility. The gross specimen after resection is often accompanied by a capsule. Breast fibroadenomas are generally not adherent to the skin and deep tissues. During pregnancy and lactation, as hormone levels in the body change, the tumor may experience ductal proliferation and form alveoli, causing the tumor to grow rapidly and even produce milk. After menopause, breast fibroadenomas may degenerate and atrophy like the surrounding glands.

Inspection method

1. Ultrasound B-ultrasound examination can show the soft tissue structure of each layer of the breast and the shape, size and echo condition of the mass. Fibroadenomas often appear as round or oval low-echo areas with clear and neat boundaries, uniform internal echo distribution, weak light spots, complete posterior wall lines, and lateral acoustic shadows. The echo behind the tumor is enhanced. If there is calcification, an acoustic shadow may appear behind the calcification point. 2. Mammographic X-ray (commonly known as molybdenum target) shows that for those with abundant breast fat, fibroadenoma appears as a round shadow with smooth and sharp edges and uniform density. Some may have a thin translucent halo around the tumor. A small number of tumors undergo calcification, which may be in the form of flakes or coarse-grained calcifications with irregular outlines, which is completely different from the fine sand-grained calcification of breast cancer. In patients with dense breasts, the tumor is not clearly visible on X-rays because the density is similar to that of breast tissue. Therefore, for young women, since the breast gland structure is relatively dense, mammography examination is not necessary unless there is a special need.