Abstract
The term benign breast disease encompasses a very heterogeneous group of breast tissue changes. The evaluation of benign conditions of the breast requires constant vigilance for proper diagnosis, exclusion of carcinoma and treatment. A precise diagnosis is of great importance because some of these changes are not well defined. But an accurate diagnosis is imperative because of the underlying ...
Abstract
The term benign breast disease encompasses a very heterogeneous group of breast tissue changes. The evaluation of benign conditions of the breast requires constant vigilance for proper diagnosis, exclusion of carcinoma and treatment. A precise diagnosis is of great importance because some of these changes are not well defined. But an accurate diagnosis is imperative because of the underlying breast cancer risk of some benign breast diseases. These lesions may present as nipple discharge, mastodynia, palpable mass or as an incidental finding on mammography or biopsies. Benign breast lesions seem to be hormone-dependent changes of the breast tissue. Estrogen induction of cell proliferation is a crucial step in carcinogenesis of gynecological target tissues in the breast. Studies of breast tissue show decreased ERP expression in cancer compared with benign tumors. The loss of ERP expression in cancer cells may represent a critical stage in estrogen-dependent tumor progression. This paper reviews the current knowledge on benign breast diseases with regard to etiology and clinical symptoms.
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