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mammary fibroadenoma

Definition: Benign breast lesion that result from hyperplasia of the normal lobules. Circumscribed, often large, breast mass usually occuring in adolescent females with stromal and epithelial hypercellularity but lacking the leaf-like growth pattern of phyllodes tumors.

Synopsis

- Common
- Benign
- Usually aged 20–35 years
- Multiple in 20%: in same breast or bilaterally
- Increase in size during pregnancy
- Tend to regress as patient ages

Pathogenesis

- Appears to be benign neoplasm of specialized stroma of breast with accompanying epithelial component
- Rapidly growing fibroadenomas in immunosuppressed individuals contain Epstein–Barr virus
- No differences between fibroadenomas removed from patients taking oral contraceptives and those in controls except occasional formation of acini in former

Gross Pathology

- sharply demarcated
- firm
- <3 cm diameter
- Cut surface: solid, grayish white, bulging
- whorl-like pattern
- slit-like spaces
- No necrosis

Histopathology

- Appearance varies and depends on: relative amount and configuration of glandular tissue; relative amount of connective tissue
- slightly hypercellular stroma but not to a degree that would justify a diagnosis of phylloides tumor.
- intracanalicular (a misnomer) when connective tissue invaginates into glandular spaces and appears to be within them
- pericanalicular when regular glandular configuration of glands maintained
- often both types in same lesion
- distinction has no practical connotations

- Tubule cells:
- cuboidal or low columnar
- round uniform nuclei
- rest on myoepithelial cell layer

- Stroma:
- usually loose connective tissue rich in acid mucopolysaccharides
- may be partially or totally dense fibrous type
- spindle cells:
- predominantly CD34-positive fibroblasts
- admixed with scattered FXIIIa-positive dendrophages4,5
- no elastic tissue
- consistent with presumed terminal duct–lobular unit (TDLU) origin of lesion
- cellularity varies from case to case:
- if unduly hypercellular consider alternative diagnosis phylloides tumor

Special Stains and Immunohistochemistry

- progesterone receptors: almost universal
- estrogen receptors: ≈25% of cases

Predisposition

If multiple and highly myxoid may be component of Carney complex, which includes:
- endocrine hyperactivity
- cardiac myxoma
- cutaneous hyperpigmentation
- other abnormalities
- other breast abnormalities:
- lobular and nodular myxoid changes26
- ductal adenoma with tubular features

Differential Diagnosis

- mammary phylloides tumor

  • The mammary fibroadenoma has a slightly hypercellular stroma but not to a degree that would justify a diagnosis of phylloides tumor.
    - mammary tubular adenoma
    - mammary adenomyoepithelioma

Genetics

- ≈20% have clonal chromosome aberrations in stromal component

Prognosis

- Low long-term risk for breast carcinoma: increased risk if:

  • complex
  • ductal hyperplasia
  • family history of breast carcinoma

- not increased risk if foci of atypical epithelial hyperplasia

- Malignant changes in 0.1% of cases:

  • usually epithelial component
  • most in situ (low-grade intraductal carcinoma)
  • +/- entirely within confines of fibroadenoma
  • +/- involves surrounding breast
  • +/- may represent extension into fibroadenoma by carcinoma
  • +/- originating elsewhere in breast

- sarcomatous transformation of stroma even rarer

Differential diagnosis: mammary biphasic lesions

- adenomyoepithelioma
- mammary fibroadenomas

  • mammary juvenile fibroadenoma

- mammary hamartoma
- metaplastic mammary carcinoma
- phyllodes tumor
- pleomorphic adenoma
- gynecomastia
- pubertal macromastia

See also

- mammary tumors

  • mammary biphasic tumors

References

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- Fletcher JA, Pinkus GS, Weidner N, Morton CC. Lineage-restricted clonality in biphasic solid tumors. Am J Pathol. 1991;138:1199–1207.

- Kleer CG, Tseng MD, Gutsch DE, Rochford RA, Wu Z, Joynt LK, et al. Detection of Epstein-Barr virus in rapidly growing fibroadenomas of the breast in immunosuppressed hosts. Mod Pathol. 2002;15:759–764.

- Fechner RE. Fibroadenomas in patients receiving oral contraceptives. A clinical and pathologic study. Am J Clin Pathol. 1970;53:857–864.

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