[Benign breast diseases: Epidemiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects in a university setting in Benin]

This study aimed to investigate epidemiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of benign breast diseases at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Mère et de l'Enfant Lagune (CHU-MEL) in Benin.

This descriptive cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection over the period of five years (2019 to 2023) included patients treated in the gynecology department of the CHU-MEL for benign breast disease and with a complete medical record. The data used are related to sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical, and therapeutic characteristics. This work was approved by the local ethics committee for biomedical research at the University of Parakou (CLERB-UP).

Benign breast disease represented 3.57% of gynecological consultation (n=447). The average age of the patients in our study was 30.82±1.23 years. The main reason for consultation was breast lumps (57.27%) and Breast self-examination was the main method of detection (48.32%). Ultrasound (70.25%) was the first-line examination, and ACR (American College of Radiology) classes 1, 2, and 3 were the most common (35.99%, 34.39%, and 28.09%, respectively). Adenofibromas was the most common among benign tumors (57.08%). Idiopathic mastodynia (39.82%) was the most common benign non-tumor pathology, followed by breast abscess (23.08%).

Benign breast diseases are common in young women and dominated by adenofibromas. Their management is limited by the low socioeconomic status of the population and lack of health insurance.