Giant fibroadenoma presenting like fungating breast cancer in a Nigerian teenager

Abstract

Background: Giant fibroadenoma of the breast is a rare benign breast tumour which seldom grows to a giant size, it is even rarer for this benign tumour to grow rapidly, ulcerate spontaneously and present like a fungating breast tumour in a way mimicking breast cancer. Case presentation: This is a presentation of a 14 year old premenarchal girl with a massive ulcerating and fungating left breast mass that was initially thought to be a fungating locally advanced breast carcinoma on clinical examination. Further examination of the morphology of the resected surgical specimen and histological examination confirmed it to be giant fibroadenoma of the breast. It was successfully managed by partial mastectomy and breast reconstruction with an excellent result and a high degree of patient satisfaction was achieved. Conclusion: Though a rare clinical entity benign breast tumour can present like a fungating breast cancer and this must be bore in mind especially in young adolescent patients presenting with ulcerating breast tumour.

Maffucci’s syndrome in association with giant tubular adenoma of the breast: Case report and literature review

“…The ulceration was thought to have resulted from pressure necrosis from this large expansile mass exacerbated by the burn. This phenomenon has been described before with giant fibroadenomas [18,19] and phyllodes tumour [20] and has been noted to cause a similar diagnostic dilemma. The solitary lymph nodes were assumed to have been reactive as a result of infection at the ulcer site.…”

Swiss Roll Technique for Giant Juvenile Fibroadenomas: A Report of Two Cases

“…These tumours are poorly understood because of their rarity and unpredictable behaviour. 1 Fibroadenomas of 5 cm or more, called giant fibroadenomas, is an uncommon variant of fibroadenomas. Their rapid growth and large size, together with their rarity may present difficulties in the clinical approach and must be excised in all cases to exclude phyllodes tumors & to prevent later deformity.…”

Giant Fibroadenoma of Breast: A Diagnostic Dilemma in a Middle Aged Woman

“…3 Giant (juvenile or cellular) fibroadenoma is a rare variant of fibroadenoma accounting for 0.5-2per cent of all cases of fibroadenomas 4 and is characterized by its large size and rapid growth. 5 This subtype has been also been defined as fibroadenoma with size larger than 5cm and/or weight of more than 500 grams. 6 Most commonly it is seen in females of Afro-Caribbean or East Asian descent and have a bimodal age distribution with occurrence typically either in adolescent or premenopausal women.…”