ENLARGING AND NEWLY APPEARING FIBROADENOMAS IN SCREENING MAMMOGRAPHY ATTENDEES

Presented are 10 fibroadenomas which had enlarged or were newly appear ing in screening mammography attendees. The 10 women were aged from 42 years to 55 years, 5 being premenopausal and 5 postmenopausal, and th ey represented 0.012% of a population attending for second or subseque nt screening examinations. On imaging features of the lesions were ben ign and typical of fibroadenoma. The size increases ranged from 3 mm t o 25 mm. While the enlargement or new appearance of a solid mass lesio n in women of this age is suspicious of malignancy, the diagnosis of f ibroadenoma must also be considered. Recognition of the effect of horm one replacement therapy, and careful, integrated use of imaging, clini cal examination, cytology and core biopsy can establish a non-operativ e diagnosis, and surgical biopsy for benign disease may be avoided.