Breast masses in adolescent females.

In a retrospective study of 38 adolescent females operated on for mammary masses, 42 fibroadenomata (FA), 2 fibrous scars around abscesses, and one papilloma were found. All were postmenarchal. Clinical and pathological features were reviewed and the patients reexamined or interviewed. FA were mostly asymptomatic and removed a few weeks after incidental discovery. They were often seen in Jewish girls of parents born in North Africa and the Middle East, and were more frequently located in the outer superior quadrant of the left breast. New FA appeared in almost half of the cases later on in the same breast, as well as in the other breast, or bilaterally. Necrosis occurred in three FA and was unrelated to the size of the tumor. There was no correlation between the size of FA, multiplicity, or necrosis, nor between increased stromal or epithelial atypia, cellularity, or mitotic activity. One explanation for the high rate of multiplicity might be related to this neoplasm occurring in an actively developing organ under hormonal control. There was no increased breast carcinoma apparent in the family history. Therefore, except in cases of fast-growing tumors, a conservative approach is recommended because of the frequency of multiple FA as well as aesthetical postoperative complications.