Surgical approach to solid breast masses in girls.
In 156 girls with solid breast masses, 34.6% had shrinkage or disappearance during follow-up, while 39 underwent surgery and 92.3% of operated lesions were fibroadenomas, supporting initial conservative management particularly for masses up to 3 cm.
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In 156 girls with solid breast masses, 34.6% had shrinkage or disappearance during follow-up, while 39 underwent surgery and 92.3% of operated lesions were fibroadenomas, supporting initial conservative management particularly for masses up to 3 cm.
Research significance
The reported observational findings suggest that surveillance of selected breast masses up to 3 cm may avoid unnecessary surgery in girls; however, this is an inferred care-de-escalation strategy rather than evidence from a prospective comparison establishing its safety or effectiveness.
Source abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, radiologic, surgical and pathologic features of solid breast masses in girls and to evaluate the follow-up and surgical treatment results of these patients. METHODS: Girls aged <18 years who were presented with a solid breast mass between 2004 and 2022 were included. Demographic characteristics, complaints at presentation, examination and imaging findings, surgical and pathology results and follow-up were evaluated. The masses were grouped as right, left and bilateral tumors and those operated and followed up. ROC curve was created for the possibility of tumor size reduction. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: There were 156 female patients with a mean age of 15.2±1.8 years. 79.5% of the patients had a single breast tumor and the mean tumor size was 2.3±1.5 cm. The masses were localized in 43.6% right breast, 38.5% left breast and 17.9% bilaterally. In 54 cases (34.6%), the mass size shrank or disappeared after a median follow-up of 6 months, ROC curve was constructed, and the cut-off point for tumor size was determined as 3cm. Thirty-nine cases (25%) were operated, 92.3% were fibroadenomas. CONCLUSION: Given the low malignancy rate in childhood breast masses, a conservative approach should be considered first. The most common breast tumor in childhood is fibroadenoma and it has been found that breast masses up to 3cm in size are likely to shrink or disappear completely during follow-up.