Fibroadenoma and breast cancer

Abstract BACKGROUND: Fibroadenomas are the most common benign breast disease. It is estimated that 10% of the female population will have a fibroadenoma at some point in their lives. Between 0.002% and 0.125% of cases will be malignant. At present, the medical approach to this problem is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To characterize fibroadenomas according to their epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment and to describe their relationship with breast cancer. METHODOLOGY: Narrative review of the literature on fibroadenomas and breast cancer based on the most recent and relevant information in the PubMed-Medline, Scopus, SciELO, and LILACS databases. Articles written in Spanish or English and published between 2019 and 2024 were included. RESULTS: Several studies associated fibroadenomas with the future development of breast cancer. The risk of breast cancer was 1.7 times higher in women with fibroadenomas than in those without. CONCLUSION: Women with fibroadenomas may benefit from closer surveillance and personalized screening strategies. Further research is needed, with a focus on determining the risk of malignancy of fibroadenoma histologic subtypes and breast cancer subtypes.