Giant juvenile fibroadenoma: a systematic review with diagnostic and treatment recommendations

Fibroadenomas are the most common type of breast tumors diagnosed in young women. Fibroadenomas found in children and adolescents are termed juvenile fibroadenomas (1). A juvenile fibroadenoma is considered “giant” if it is greater than 5 cm, 500 grams, or replaces at least 80% of the breast (1). Giant juvenile fibroadenomas are less common than fibroadenomas and comprise 1-8% of breast lesions in the adolescent population (1,2). Management of juvenile fibroadenomas includes surgical resection or observation since complete tumor regression may occur in 10-59% of lesions (1,3). These benign tumors have a propensity for rapid growth resulting in discomfort, self-consciousness, and anxiety (4,5). This is known to result in unpleasant interactions with their peers and has a considerable impact on these patients’ psychological and emotional state (4). Other conditions of the breast tissue may be mistaken for fibroadenomas including physiologic hypertrophy, phyllodes tumor, and inflammatory processes such as a breast abscess (6)