Background: Fibroadenoma is the commonest benign tumour of the breast affecting the majority of young females below the age of thirty in our environment. It is a source of concern and psychological problems in females requiring medical attention in our hospitals. Aim: This study describes the clinicopathologic characteristics of fibroadenoma in Eastern Nigerian Igbo females. Methodology: The archives of the Department of Pathology Federal Medical Centre, Owerri was used for the data collection and analyzed using simple statistics. Results: 504 fibroadenomas were analyzed. The average size was 1.99 cm with a range of 0.5 cm to 18 cm. The average age of the patients was 22.6 ± 6.7 years with a range of 9 to 60 years. The peak age of incidence was in the 11 - 20 (44.64%) age group followed closely by the 21 - 30 (43.45%) age group. The ratio of involvement of the left to the right breast was 1:1.2. Fibroadenoma was 18% multiple and 10.7% bilateral. 5.3% (27), 0.6% (3), and 0.2% (1) of the cases were giant, complex fibroadenoma and malignant breast disease in fibroadenoma respectively. Conclusion: This study has provided insights into the clinicopathologic characteristics of fibroadenoma among Nigerian Igbos and calls for more research in this area in other parts Nigeria and elsewhere.
Fibroadenoma is the commonest benign tumor of the breast among young women of Africa descent [
This study describes the clinicopathologic characteristics of fibroadenoma in Eastern Nigerian Igbo females.
This is a retrospective study of fibroadenoma among females in Federal Medical Centre, Owerri [
A total of 504 biopsies of fibroadenoma of the breast were collected in the Department of Pathology, Federal Medical Center Owerri between April 2010 and March 2016. The average ages of the patients were 22.6 ± 6.7 years with a range of 9 to 60 years. The peak age of incidence was in the 11 - 20 (44.64%) age groups followed closely by the 21 - 30 (43.45%) age groups. This is shown in
s/n* | Age groups | Freq* | % |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 - 10 | 2 | 0.39 |
2 | 11 - 20 | 225 | 44.64 |
3 | 21 - 30 | 219 | 43.45 |
4 | 31 - 40 | 43 | 8.53 |
5 | 41 - 50 | 11 | 2.18 |
6 | 51 - 60 | 6 | 1.19 |
Total | 504 | 100.00 |
*(s/n = Serial number, Freq = frequency).
There is a slight predilection for the right breast giving a left to right ratio of 1:1.2. Multiple lumps occurred in 91 cases (18%), with a slightly higher number of multiple lumps in left (9.5%) breasts. The range of multiple lumps was 2 to 8. Bilateral fibroadenoma was present in 54 cases (10.7%) and 2.8% (14 cases) were associated with fibrocystic changes, 0.4% with tubular adenoma, sclerosing adenosis and chronic mastitis respectively. Association with benign phylloides and intraductal papilloma occurred in 0.2% (1) of cases respectively. Fibroadenocarcinoma was present in one (0.2%) sample.
In this study, a total of 504 biopsies of fibroadenoma of the breast were analyzed.
s/n | Size (cm) | Freq | % |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 0.0 - 1.0 | 53 | 10.51 |
2 | 1.1 - 2.0 | 170 | 33.73 |
3 | 2.1 - 3.0 | 137 | 27.18 |
4 | 3.1 - 4.0 | 78 | 15.47 |
5 | 4.1 - 5.0 | 40 | 7.93 |
6 | >5.1 | 27 | 5.35 |
Total | 504 | 100 |
*(s/n = Serial number, Freq = frequency).
The average age of the patients was 22.6 ± 6.7 years. The peak age of incidence was in the 11 - 20 (44.64%) age group followed closely by the 21 - 30 (43.45%) age group. These findings agreed with studies from Benin City, Enugu, Maiduguri, Ghana, and India [
In this study, there was a slight predilection for the right breast giving a left to right ratio of 1:1.2. This agreed with reports from India [
We observed that the average size of the tumours was 1.99 cm with a range of 0.5 to 18 cm. The largest measured 18 × 17 × 10 cm and weighed 1.5 kg. The average size of the tumours was quite lower than reports from Enugu, Ghana, and India [
We observed that thirty-eight cases (7.5%) were giant fibroadenoma with an average size of 8.2 cm and mean age of 17.87 years. About 65.6% occurred in patients below the age of twenty years and the largest was found in a 12-year-old girl. In a multicentre systematic review in the USA, Sosin et al. [
Multiple lumps occurred in 91 cases (18%) of the cases with a slightly higher involvement of the left (9.5%) breasts. The range of multiple lumps was 2 to 8. This observation agreed with finding in Ghana, a neighboring West African country [
Furthermore, we observed that Fibroadenoma was bilateral in 54 (10.7%) cases. This occurred in 54.38% of patients 20 years and above. Other reports showed that bilateral fibroadenoma occurred in 10.9%, 12.5%, 12.63%, 16.1% in Enugu, India, and Ghana respectively [
Several studies have demonstrated the presence of invasive breast carcinomas within or in the tissues adjacent to fibroadenomas [
Ethical clearance for this study was obtained from Research ethics committee Federal Medical Centre Owerri.
The most important limitation of this study was the incomplete records observed during the data collection which lead to rejection of some cases of fibroadenoma in the departmental archives. The authors were also compelled to out-of-pocket spending to ensure the research was given adequate funding as there was no grant attracted for it.
Egejuru, R.O., Nnadi, I.G. and Duru, O.N. (2017) Fibroadenoma in Blacks. Health, 9, 1475-1481. https://doi.org/10.4236/health.2017.911108