Go back to the list of case studies                                                                                                                        .png) Click on the pictures to magnify and display the legends
 Click on the pictures to magnify and display the legends| Case number: | 037 | 
| Age: | 50 | 
| Clinical presentation: | Postmenopausal woman with average risk of developing breast cancer presented with a left breast lump noticed 6 months ago. This was associated with pain at the site. Examination revealed a tender firm mobile lump less than a centimetre in diameter in the upper outer quadrant of the left breast. | 
Mammography:
| Breast composition: | ACR category b (there are scattered areas of fibroglandular density) | 
Mammography features: |  | | 
 | 
| ‣ Location of the lesion: | Left breast, upper outer quadrant at 3 o’clock, anterior and middle thirds | 
| ‣ Mass: |  | 
| • Number: | 1 | 
| • Size: | 1.5 × 1.0 cm | 
| • Shape: | Irregular | 
| • Margins: | Microlobulated | 
| • Density: | Equal | 
| ‣ Calcifications: |  | 
| • Typically benign: | None | 
| • Suspicious: | None | 
| • Distribution: | None | 
| ‣ Architectural distortion: | None | 
| ‣ Asymmetry: | None | 
| ‣ Intramammary node: | None | 
| ‣ Skin lesion: | None | 
| ‣ Solitary dilated duct: | None | 
| ‣ Associated features: | None | 
Ultrasound:
| Ultrasound features: Left breast, upper outer quadrant at 3 o’clock | 
| 
 | 
| ‣ Mass |  | 
| • Location: | Left breast, upper outer quadrant at 3 o’clock | 
| • Number: | 1 | 
| • Size: | 1.0 cm in greatest dimension | 
| • Shape: | Irregular | 
| • Orientation: | Not parallel | 
| • Margins: | Microlobulated | 
| • Echo pattern: | Hypoechoic | 
| • Posterior features: | No posterior features | 
| ‣ Calcifications: | None | 
| ‣ Associated features: | Internal vascularity | 
| ‣ Special cases: | None | 
BI-RADS:
BI-RADS Category: 4B (moderate suspicion of malignancy)
Further assessment:
Further assessment advised: Referral for cytology and for excision biopsy
Cytology:
| Cytology features: |  | 
| 
 | 
| ‣ Type of sample: | FNAC | 
| ‣ Site of biopsy: |  | 
| • Laterality: | Left | 
| • Quadrant: | Outer lower | 
| • Localization technique: | Palpation, rubbery consistency felt through the needle | 
| • Nature of aspirate: | whitish | 
| ‣ Cytological description: | Cellular smear showing elongated, branching epithelial fragments of regularly arranged cohesive cells. Single, bare bipolar or oval nuclei are scattered in the background. Loose fibromyxoid stroma are also seen | 
| ‣ Reporting category: | Benign | 
| ‣ Diagnosis: | Fibroadenoma | 
| ‣ Comments: | None | 
Histopathology:
Lumpectomy
| Histopathology features: |  | 
| 
 | 
| ‣ Specimen type: | Lumpectomy | 
| ‣ Laterality: | Left | 
| ‣ Macroscopy: | Lumpectomy specimen (9.0 × 7.0 × 3.0 cm) with skin flap. Cut surface shows a firm white area (1.2 × 1.0 × 0.5 cm), 1.0 cm from the inferior margin below the skin. Another whitish area (3.0 × 2.0 cm) is seen superomedially | 
| ‣ Histological type: | Sections from lumpectomy specimen reveal histological features of a fibroadenoma having intracanalicular and pericanalicular patterns. A few ducts in the fibroadenoma show features of UDH. The overlying skin is unremarkable. The adjacent fibroadipose tissue shows foci of fibrosis | 
| ‣ Histological grade: |  | 
| ‣ Mitosis: |  | 
| ‣ Maximum invasive tumour size: |  | 
| ‣ Lymph node status: |  | 
| ‣ Peritumoural lymphovascular invasion: |  | 
| ‣ DCIS/EIC: |  | 
| ‣ Margins: |  | 
| ‣ Pathological stage: |  | 
| ‣ Biomarkers: |  | 
| ‣ Comments: |  | 
Case summary:
| Postmenopausal woman presented with left breast lump. Diagnosed as mass of suspicious morphology, BI-RADS 4B on imaging and as fibroadenoma left breast on cytology. Fibroadenoma showed foci of epithelial hyperplasia on histopathology. | 
Learning points:
| 
 
Fibroadenoma can reveal atypical features on ultrasound suspicious of breast carcinoma, such as irregular shape, heteroechogenicity, microcalcifications within the mass, or posterior shadowing. Microlobulated margins are a feature of atypical fibroadenoma. These atypical appearances are caused by interdigitation of the surrounding parenchyma. 
 |