Is breast tumor painful?

Breast diseases have appeared a long time ago. Breast diseases can be divided into many types. Generally, in the early stages, there will be occasional breast pain, which may be dull pain or pulling pain. When the patient is lying or lying on his stomach, he will also feel such pain in the breast. Not only that, some secretions will overflow from the nipple. These are all things that require attention to choose the appropriate method of treatment.

In early breast cancer, breast pain is occasionally the only symptom, which may be a dull ache or a pulling sensation, especially when lying on the side. Studies have shown that the detection rate of breast cancer will increase in postmenopausal women who experience breast pain accompanied by gland thickening. Of course, when the tumor is accompanied by inflammation, there may be swelling or tenderness. If the advanced tumor invades the nerves or the axillary lymph nodes compress or invade the brachial plexus, shoulder pain may occur.

Nipple discharge can be divided into physiological and pathological. Physiological nipple discharge is mainly seen in pregnant and lactating women. Pathological nipple discharge refers to the secretion of mammary ducts under non-physiological conditions. The latter is usually referred to. Nipple discharge can be caused by a variety of breast diseases and is easily noticed by patients. It is one of the main reasons why about 10% of patients come to the hospital for treatment. Among the symptoms of various breast diseases, its incidence is second only to breast lumps and breast pain.

1. Nipple discharge can be divided into bloody, serum-like, serous, watery, purulent, and milky types according to its physical properties. Among them, serous, watery and milky discharges are more common, and bloody discharge only accounts for 10% of discharge cases. When the lesion is located in the large duct, the discharge is mostly bloody; when located in the smaller duct, it may be light bloody or serous; if the blood stays in the duct for too long, it may be dark brown; when there is inflammation and infection in the duct, it may be mixed with pus, and liquefied necrotic tissue may be watery, milky or brown; the fluid of mammary duct ectasia is often serous. Bloody discharge is mostly caused by benign lesions, and a few breast cancers can also be bloody. Physiological nipple discharge is mostly bilateral, and the discharge is often milky or watery.

2. The causes of nipple discharge are mainly divided into: external breast factors and internal breast factors.

5% to 10% of breast cancer patients experience nipple discharge, but only 1% have nipple discharge as the only symptom. The discharge is usually monofilamentous and may be bloody, serous, watery, or colorless. Breast cancer that originates in large ducts or has the morphology of intraductal carcinoma is more likely to be accompanied by nipple discharge. Malignant transformation of intraductal papilloma and eczematoid carcinoma of the nipple can also cause nipple discharge. It is worth noting that although most people believe that breast cancer is rarely accompanied by nipple discharge, and even if discharge occurs, it almost always occurs after or at the same time as a lump appears, and those without a lump are rarely considered to be cancer. However, recent studies have shown that nipple discharge is an early clinical manifestation of certain breast cancers, especially intraductal carcinoma, and can exist alone before a noticeable mass forms.

Intraductal papilloma is a disease that causes nipple discharge most frequently, ranking first among all nipple discharge lesions. Among them, intraductal papilloma in the areola area is the most common. It can be single or multiple, and the age distribution ranges from 18 to 80 years old, and is mainly seen in 30 to 50 years old. The diameter of the tumor ranges from 0.3 to 3.0 cm, with an average of 1.0 cm. Tumors larger than 3.0 cm are often malignant. The nature of the discharge is mostly bloody or serous, others are rare. It is generally believed that papillomas occurring in large ducts are mostly solitary and rarely become cancerous, while those occurring in small and medium-sized ducts are often multiple and may become cancerous. Both are similar lesions, but they occur in different locations and have different growth processes.

Although cystic hyperplasia is not a tumor, it is the most common benign lesion of breast tissue. It is more common around the age of 40 and is rare after menopause. Among them, three pathological changes, cysts, hyperplasia of the milk duct epithelium and papillomatosis, are the basis of the discharge. The disease is mostly serous in nature, and only 5% of the patients are accompanied by discharge.