Fibroadenoma of breast in Iranian women between 1994 and 2004

Fibroadenomas are the most common benign tumors of the female breast and are associated with a slight increase in risk for subsequent breast cancer. The aim of this study was to make a methodical inventory of risk factors for fibroadenoma in women.

This study was conducted between 1994 and 2004 in cross-section in 4000 women hospitalized in some Iranian hospitals for fibroadenoma. In the study the following factors were examined: age, menstrual cycle pattern, age of menarche, menopause after 50 years, oral contraceptive use, mastalgia, marriage, number of full-term pregnancies, first pregnancy over age 35 years, history of breastfeeding, cigar smoking, the kind of radiology for diagnosis, the place of tumor, tumor location in breast, diameter of tumor, multiple tumor, patient background and family history of fibroadenoma, and pathology report.

The common age was between 26 and 30 years; 42% had bleeding for more than 35 days; 57.8% had menarche before 12 years old; 2.6% had menopause after 50 years old; 67.3% of patients used oral contraceptive; 57% had premenstrual mastalgia; 11.9% were single; the risk for fibroadenoma decreased with increasing number of full-term pregnancies; 10.2% had first pregnancy at age over 35 years; 36.4% had breastfed; 7.9% had smoked cigarettes; 36.9% of patients had only mammography, 82.1% only had sonography examination, and 28.9% had both; the left breast was affected slightly more than the right; the most frequent location was the upper-outer quadrant; the most frequent size was between 4 and 5.9 cm; 24.7% had multiple tumors; 12.2% had background and 62.9% had family history of fibroadenoma; 17.6% had malignancy in their pathology report.

The results for the studied risk factors for fibroadenoma are similar to those of studies conducted in other countries. In our study, however, we observed some differences in breastfeeding, cigarette smoking, patient background, and malignancy in the pathology report.