Logo

Giant Multilobulated Breast Mass, an Uncommon Manifestation of Fibroadenoma: A Case Study and Review of the Literature

Authors

  • John Adi Ashindoitiang

    Department of Surgery, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

  • Theophilus Ipeh Ugbem

    Department of Pathology, University of Calabar and University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

  • Joseph Esien Kooffreh

    Department of Surgery, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

  • Maurice Efana Asuquo

    Department of Surgery, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30683/1927-7229.2025.14.13

Keywords:

Giant, fibroadenoma, lactation, triple assessment, conservative surgery

Abstract

A giant multilobulated breast mass is a rare and significant presentation of fibroadenoma characterized by their considerable size, exceeding 5cm and their rapid progression, which frequently results in notable breast distortion. It can cause symptoms such as stretching of the skin with multiple dilated veins, nipple changes and even ulceration that may mimic malignancy. Presented is a case involving a 33-year-old woman with a giant multilobulated breast mass of 6 years duration noticed during lactation. Clinical, imaging and histological evaluation revealed a definitive diagnosis of a giant fibroadenoma. She was offered surgical enucleation with satisfactory outcome. Giant fibroadenoma is rare and may be noticed during lactation simulating malignancy. Hormonal changes during pregnancy and lactation can stimulate the growth of fibroadenoma.Timely histopathological validation through immunohistochemistry is crucial to prevent the unnecessary treatment of benign lesions that resemble malignant condition. Surgical intervention with enucleation is the treatment choice for this benign disease and timely surgical intervention is recommended for the avoidance of complications that may be associated with late presentation of giant lesions.

References

[1] Mounir M, Jaouad K, El Mehdi EM, Rachid AB, Driss MR, Mohammed D. Giant fibroadenoma of the breast: A case report. J Obstet Gynecol Cancer Res 2017; 2(3): e57935.

[2] Ebrahim SMA, Almass AA, Alarbash AA, Aldulaijan FA Sr. The Challenges of Approaching of Giant breast mass: A case report with literature review. Cureus 2025; 17(1): e77839.

[3] Karagulle E, Turk E, Erinanc OH, Morcy G. Giant fibroadenoma growing rapidly during pregnancy. Iran Red Crescent Med J 2014; 16(8): e9531.

[4] Thuruthiyath N, Das PC, Avabratha KS, Mascarenhas V, Marla N. Giant fibroadenoma of breast in an adolescent girl. Oman Medical Journal 2012; 27(4): 314-315.

[5] Achebe JU, Njeze GE, Okwesili OR. Treatment of unilateral giant fibroadenoma by breast reduction skin incision. The inverted “T” technique. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice 2014; 17(1): 43-46.

[6] Cerrato F, Labow BI. Diagnosis and management of fibroadenoma in adolescent breast. Semin Plast Surg 2013; 27(1): 23-25.

[7] Jabeen N, Abdulla HA, Abushwemeh MA, Alquaseer A, Alrayes A. Giant fibroadenoma of the beast: a benign breast mass mimicking malignancy. Int Surg J 2021; 8(4): 1391-1393.

[8] Kubuyaya MK, Mutambo FL, Moseka FM, Kihemba K, wefzig N, Lussy JP. A giant fibroadenoma in a mature woman: diagnosis and treatment in a limited resourse environment(a case report). Pan African Medical Journal 2021; 38(19): 26200.

[9] Bhargava A, Khan IA, Tote D, Zade A, Manek YB. A unique presentation of a giant fibroadenoma in a perimenopausal female. Cureus 2024; 16(5): e60189.

[10] Bairwa BL. Giant fibroadenoma mimicking phyllodes tumour in post-menopausal female: a case report and review of literature. Int Surg J 2020; 7: 4235-4237.

[11] Gonzalez CG, Akula S, Burleson M. The role of mediator subunit 12 in tumorigenesis and cancer therapeutics. Oncology Letters 2022; 23:74.

[12] Satpathi S, Gaurkar SS, Potdukhe A, Wamari KB. Unveiling the Role of Hormonal imbalance in Breast Cancer Development: A cComparative Review. Cureus 2023; 15(7): e41737.

[13] Thiruvalluvan M, Bhowmick NA. Stromal-epithelial interactions in Cancer Progression and Therapy Response. Cancers 2023; 15: 3014.

[14] Lee JPY, Thomas AJ, Lum SK, et al. Gene expression profiling of giant fibroadenoma of the breast. Surg Oncology 2021; 37: 101536.

[15] Li Z, Wei H, Li S, Wu P, Mao X. The role of Progesterone Receptors in Breast Cancer. Drug Design, Development and Therapy 2022; 16: 305-314.

[16] Heng SSL, Yahaya MM, Sulaiman WAW, Saad AZM. A armless evil giant fungating benign mass in an adolescent mimicking malignancy – case report. Int J Surg Case Rep 2020; 80: 105202.

[17] Meng X, Yamanouchi S, Kaba S, et al. Giant fibroadenoma of the breast: A rare case in a mature woman. Int J Surg case Reps 2019; 63: 36-39.

[18] Jackson T, Carmichael C, Lovett K, Scott M, Shakya S, Sotak M. Approach to the patient with a palpable mass. JAAPA 2022; 35: 22-28.

[19] Weerakkody Y, Manning T, Lemos P, et al. Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS), Reference article, Radiopaedia.org(Assessed on 13th October 2025.

[20] Ramala SR, Chandak S, Chandak MS, Annareddy S. A comprehensive Review of Breast Fubroadenoma: Correlating Clinical and Pathological Finding. Cureus 2023; 15(12): e49942.

[21] Nwashilli NJ, Obahiagbon I. Giant fibroadenoma in a middle-aged woman requiring mastectomy: A case report . Annals of Health Research 2020; 6(4): 456-462.

[22] Pan XY, Wu JK, Lang ZQ, Qu L, Jiang L. The value of Immunohistochemical expression of Ki-67 and CD34 in differentiating ductal carcinoma in situ-like invasive breast cancer. Zhonghua Bing Li Xue Za Zhi 2022; 51(9): 838-842.

[23] Sahay A, Patil A, Desai SB. How we use immunohistochemistry to arrive at a diagnosis of breast lesions. Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology 2022; 43(01): 114-119.

[24] Tummidi S, Kothari K, Sood P. Fibroadenoma versus phyllodes tumour: a vexing problem revisited. BMC Cancer 2020; 20: 648.

[25] Pandit P, Murkey SP, Agarwel A, Jaisual A, Agarwal S. Understanding fibroadenoma of the breast: A comprehensive review of preoperative and postoperative clinicopathological correlations. Cureus 2023; 15(12): e51329.

Downloads

Published

2025-11-21

Issue

Vol. 14 (2025)

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Giant Multilobulated Breast Mass, an Uncommon Manifestation of Fibroadenoma: A Case Study and Review of the Literature. (2025). Journal of Analytical Oncology, 14, 81-87. https://doi.org/10.30683/1927-7229.2025.14.13

Similar Articles

1-10 of 62

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)