PREVALENCE AND LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF BREAST MASSES IN ADOLESCENTS

This study examined the prevalence and outcome of breast masses in ado lescent females and compared these teens to those without breast masse s. A longitudinal study of adolescents with breast masses was conducte d from October 1984 through january 1990. The prevalence of discrete b reast masses in the 13-month study period was 13/400 (3.25%) among new female patients. The mean length and width of the masses were 2.8 and 1.9 cm; 86% had a solitary mass. Of 61 diagnosed with breast masses, 39 were followed for up to 40 months (mean, 7 months). Teens with a ma ss were older (16.8 versus 15.1 years, p < 0.001) and had a greater ch ance of a family history of breast disease (26% versus 10.5%, p < 0.05 ) than those without a breast mass. Of 39 teens returning for at least one follow-up visit, 10 had a clinical diagnosis of ''fibrocystic cha nges.'' Of these, the lesions resolved in six. Of the 29 teens with a discrete mass on examination, 7 underwent surgery and were found to ha ve fibroadenomas. Nine of the 29 teens had masses which resolved over 1-12 months, six teens had masses which remained unchanged over 3-40 m onths, while four had masses which became smaller, and two had masses which became larger. One teen with mastitis improved. Eighteen underwe nt ultrasonographic examination at the breast. Of the 12 teens found t o have a solid mass on ultrasound, none had a mass that resolved on fo llow-up examination. Of the six teens that had either a normal ultraso und or fibrocystic changes on ultrasound, 3/6 (50%) had lesions that r esolved on follow-up examination. The correlations between ultrasound and clinical findings were length, r = 0.9 (p > 0.0001) and width, r = 0.93 (p < 0.0001).