Pathology of the breast in children, adolescents, and young adults

The pathologic spectrum of breast disease in children and adolescents is br oad and includes entities more commonly seen in older patients. In general, the vast majority of breast masses in young patients are benign with fibro adenomas, gynecomastia, and macromastia accounting for the majority of surg ical specimens. Malignant tumors are more likely to be secondary or metasta tic than primary. Rhabdomyosarcoma and hematolymphoid tumors comprise a maj ority of malignant diagnoses in children. Primary carcinomas and sarcomas a re rare, especially if sarcomas arising in the setting of cystosarcoma phyl lodes are excluded. Copyright (C) 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company.