# Benign breast lump (fibroadenoma)

- Category: chronic
- Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page)
- Sources: Breast Fibroadenoma - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535345/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class GD30 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
- Verified date: 2026-08

## Verified against

- No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
- Benign breast lump (fibroadenoma) - disease-level clinical article (benign-breast-neoplasm-full.txt)

## Treatment metadata

- No drug therapy in primary care (Referral & Advice)

## Complete treatment card

```text
BENIGN BREAST LUMP (FIBROADENOMA)
Sources: Breast Fibroadenoma - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf -
         https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535345/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification
         of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class GD30 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose -
         referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
Review status: REVIEWED against No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care,
               Benign breast lump (fibroadenoma) - disease-level clinical article
               (benign-breast-neoplasm-full.txt)  (2026-08)

IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination
  SIGNS - what you find (3)
    - Fibroadenomas most often sit in the upper, outer part of the breast
    - The lump is painless, freely movable, and a single mass on exam  [breast lump]
    - It feels firm and rubbery with a regular edge, and it can enlarge quickly
  TESTS (6)
    - Mammography is used to check suspicious lumps in women over 35
    - On a mammogram it stands out as a separate area with smooth, rounded edges
    - In older, postmenopausal patients an involuting lesion can show coarse, popcorn-like
      calcification on mammogram
    - Ultrasound is favored under age 35 and readily separates a solid mass from a fluid-filled cyst
    - On ultrasound the mass looks well-defined, round to oval, and evenly darker than surrounding
      tissue
    - A core needle biopsy can be done to confirm the diagnosis when needed
  IF NOT THIS - what else fits (5)
    - Breast cyst
    - Breast carcinoma
    - Phyllodes tumor
    - Breast lymphoma
    - Metastasis to the breast from a distant primary cancer
  Source  StatPearls "Breast Fibroadenoma" - disease-level clinical article
  Status  traced to the source above

1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)    [1st line]
   Adult    Benign breast lump, most often a fibroadenoma in a young woman; the GP recognises the
            clinical picture, reassures, and refers for imaging/biopsy (triple assessment) to
            confirm benignity. - Refer, with advice
   Peds     Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is
            implied.
   Source   No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
   Why      Benign breast lump, most often a fibroadenoma in a young woman; the GP recognises the
            clinical picture, reassures, and refers for imaging/biopsy (triple assessment) to
            confirm benignity.
   Caution  No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and
            referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
            RED FLAG - Rapid growth, size greater than 2 cm, or patient request are indications for
            surgical intervention.
            RED FLAG - Patients with first-degree relatives with breast cancer require closer
            monitoring for malignant features.
            RED FLAG - A rapidly enlarging lump, skin dimpling or nipple retraction, bloody nipple
            discharge, or a new lump outside the usual fibroadenoma age range: assess urgently and
            refer.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.
```

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