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Surgical Approach to Solid Breast Masses in Girls
Baradar Karımlı1, Ayşe Karaman1, Gürses Şahin2
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Health Sciences Turkey, Ankara Dr. Sami Ulus Children's Health and Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
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. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was created for the possibility of tumor size reduction. P < .05 was considered statistically significant.
Results:
There were 156 female patients with a mean age of 15.2 ± 1.8 years. Overall, 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 3 cm. 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 3 cm in size are likely to shrink or disappear completely during follow-up.
