Master Fibroadenoma with Picmonic for Nurse Practitioner

Fibroadenomas are stromal tumors, and are composed of stromal tissue and epithelium. Typically, there is a whorled pattern with duct-like spaces surrounded by fibrous stroma.

These tumors are very common, and mostly affect women who are of childbearing age, which is typically less than 40. The incidence of these tumors decreases with age.

Fibroadenomas are small, firm masses which are freely mobile.

These tumors are well-defined and have sharply delineated edges visible on ultrasound. They do not feel palpably different from normal breast tissue and are not attached to the chest wall.

These tumors are partially hormone-dependent and increase in size and tenderness with estrogen exposure. Thus, many patients may complain of premenstrual pain but more commonly during pregnancy when increases in estrogen are prevalent.

Though this may be made as a clinical diagnosis in many patients, most doctors recommend a needle-biopsy to sample the tissue. This is done even more often in older patients, who do not typically develop fibroadenomas.