Abstract
A 42-year-old woman was referred to us for detailed examination of a left breast tumor that had been detected by palpation and mammography during breast cancer screening in December, 2009. The patient had no relevant medical history, and there was no family history of breast cancer. Physical examination revealed a spherical tumor 4cm in diameter in the upper-outer quadrant of the left breast. It was mobile, elastic and relatively firm with a smooth surface. There were no palpable lymph nodes in the axilla. Mammography showed a lobulated, homogeneously dense tumor shadow, with a partly unclear borderline, on the basis of which the tumor was evaluated as Category 4 (suspicious abnormality). Ultrasonography demonstrated an irregularly outlined, non-homogeneous, generally hypoechoic tumor mass, with a hyperechoic zone in the anterior peripheral area, where minute calcifications were evident and the anterior tumor line was interrupted. These findings were interpreted to indicate the presence of infiltrating cancer. A core needle biopsy demonstrated no malignant features, and the diagnosis was suspected fibroadenoma. In order to make a definite diagnosis, an incisional biopsy was performed, and the final pathologic diagnosis was mastopathic-type fibroadenoma.
