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Programs & Services

CIBC Breast Centre

Benign Breast Diseases: Fibrocystic Condition

Fibrocystic condition affects up to 50 per cent of women during their reproductive life and is the most common cause of breast lumps and breast complaints in pre-menopausal women. The causes are unknown.

The pathology consists of fibrosis, cystic dilatation of glands and ducts, proliferation and hyperplasia of duct and lobular cells. Cysts are common and vary from tiny to large and solitary to multiple. They can be mobile, smooth, firm, discrete or lumpy, and they may appear suddenly with rapid increases or decreases in size.


Diagnosis

Symptoms may include pain, tenderness, lumps or lumpiness and nipple discharge. Pain and tenderness is particularly noticeable in the upper outer quadrants of breasts, often worse during the premenstrual phase, can be diffuse or localized, unilaterally or bilaterally. Nipple discharge occurs in 20 to 40 per cent of cases, usually in small amounts provoked by milking or squeezing the breast. The discharge is not spontaneous, is often bilateral and is of a colour that may vary from straw-like to dark brown or green.

Breast self-examination is an important skill to acquire.

Treatment

Treatment includes the following:

  • Dietary modifications:
    • avoiding consumption of caffeine in coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, aged cheese
    • reducing intake of fats
    • avoiding tobacco
    • lowering salt use
  • Cysts aspiration


Risk of Breast Cancer

The overwhelming majority of patients with fibrocystic condition have no increased risk of breast cancer.

In a small proportion of cases, atypical hyperplasia found on biopsy indicates a greater risk of developing breast cancer. A family history of breast cancer also marks an increased risk.