Assessment of the acceptability of conservative management of fibroadenoma of the breast

A prospective study was performed in 202 patients with 219 fibroadenomas, diagnosed by a combination of clinical examination, ultrasonography and fine-needle aspiration cytology. Patients were given the choice of excision or conservative management with regular monitoring by ultrasonography. Sixteen patients with 18 fibroadenomas opted for excision and all 18 lesions were histologically confirmed as fibroadenomas. A further 152 patients with 163 fibroadenomas were observed for a minimum period of 2 years; 13 fibroadenomas increased significantly in size (all 13 were excised and confirmed histologically as fibroadenomas), 19 decreased significantly in size, 42 resolved and the remaining 89 showed no change in size. Conservative management of fibroadenomas in patients under the age of 40 is safe and acceptable to the majority of women.