What does stromal fibrosis feel like?

What does stromal fibrosis feel like?

With stromal fibrosis, the breasts may develop lumps or thickening of breast tissue. Quite often the condition is accompanied by tenderness and pain in the breast.

Does stromal fibrosis turn into cancer?

Stromal fibrosis is a common finding on percutaneous breast biopsy, with an incidence ranging from 2.1% to 9.0% depending on the series. Stromal fibrosis has a wide spectrum of imaging appearances on mammogram, ultrasound and MRI….Table 3.

What is stromal fibrosis in breast?

Stromal fibrosis in the breast is a pathologic entity characterized by proliferation of stroma with obliteration of the mammary acini and ducts, which results in a localized area of fibrous tissue associated with hypoplastic mammary ducts and lobules [1,2,3,4,5].

What is stromal sclerosis in breast?

Sclerotic stroma of the Breast. Sclerosis refers to a condition of ‘hardening’ of some kind, usually caused by an overgrowth of fibrous tissue. ‘Stroma’ is a general term which refers to the supportive-connective tissues surrounding or within an organ, as opposed to the more ‘functional’ elements.

Should I worry about stromal fibrosis?

Although it is a benign entity, stromal fibrosis is a leading cause of missed cases of breast cancer [3]. The presence of primary breast cancer is known to cause a desmoplastic proliferation of collagenous and fibrous tissue within the host [6].

Is stromal fibrosis malignant?

In contrast, stromal fibrosis can exhibit malignant radiological features such as irregular, spiculated margins with calcifications. These conflicting characteristics are maintained across the imaging modalities of ultrasound, mammogram, and MRI.

Can stromal fibrosis be misdiagnosed?

The misdiagnosis of stromal fibrosis can be attributed to its wide spectrum of radiological findings ranging from benign to malignant characteristics [3,4,6-9]. Imaging modalities that can detect stromal fibrosis include ultrasound, mammograms, and breast MRI [3-6,8,11,12].

What are the symptoms of stromal fibrosis?

With stromal fibrosis, the breasts may develop lumps or thickening of breast tissue. Quite often the condition is accompanied by tenderness and pain in the breast. Usually these changes occur in both breasts simultaneously, and the size of the lumps may fluctuate, which are both good clues that there is no concern of breast cancer.

Is stromal fibrosis in the breast benign or malignant?

Background: Stromal fibrosis in the breast is a non-specific benign pathologic entity with wide spectrum of imaging finding. The false-negative rates (number of cancers missed) previously reported have limited value because short follow-up period and small number of populations.

What is the relationship between sclerotic stroma and breast cancer?

Often, a prevailing condition of sclerotic stroma can lead to the development of a radial scar, which is thought to put women at higher risk for breast cancer development.

What does fibrosis of the breast feel like?

Areas of fibrosis feel rubbery, firm, or hard to the touch. Cysts are fluid-filled, round or oval sacs within the breasts. They are often felt as a round, movable lump, which might also be tender to the touch.