What causes lumps on the outside of the breast?

The appearance of lumps on the outside of the breast is a common symptom of breast disease in medicine. Lumps on the outside of the breast are generally caused by breast hyperplasia, and can also easily cause breast pain or swelling. People with breast fibroids are also prone to symptoms of lumps on the outside of the breast. They need to be examined and treated in time, and pay more attention to observing the condition.

What is the cause of the lump on the outside of the breast?

Breast lumps are a common sign of breast disease. Women's breasts are naturally uneven, and the lumps that many women discover themselves are simply areas of normal breast bulge that become more obvious and easier to touch before their period.

Common diseases and symptoms

The vast majority of breast lumps found clinically are benign lesions, such as breast adenosis, breast fibroadenoma, breast cysts, intraductal papilloma, breast duct ectasia and breast tuberculosis. Breast adenosis is also known as breast hyperplasia. Judging from the characteristics of the lumps, breast adenosis often causes multiple nodules of varying sizes and unclear boundaries to be found in both breasts simultaneously or successively, which can be pushed. Breast fibroadenomas are mostly solitary, with clear boundaries, neat edges, smooth surfaces, and are movable. Breast cysts are small, smooth, movable swellings that form when breast tissue ages. Intraductal papilloma is often felt as a round, soft mass under the areola or at the edge of the areola, with a diameter generally ranging from 0.3 to 1 cm, and most cases are accompanied by nipple discharge. Mammary duct ectasia, also known as plasma cell mastitis, often presents as the first symptom a lump with irregular edges and an uneven surface. It is often located deep in the areola and is usually less than 3 cm in size. Breast tuberculosis usually presents as isolated nodules at the beginning, gradually forming one or several lumps with unclear boundaries and easy adhesion to the skin. Only a small number of breast lumps are cancerous. Breast cancer lumps are mostly single nodules with irregular edges. Most are hard in texture and often adhere to the skin.

diagnosis

It is relatively easy to diagnose a lump felt in the breast, combined with breast X-ray (molybdenum target photography) and breast color ultrasound, and if necessary, a puncture or surgical biopsy for cytological or histological diagnosis.

In recent years, due to the improvement of diagnostic equipment and the advancement of technology, the proportion of breast cancers that cannot be felt has continued to increase. Breast X-ray examinations can detect tiny calcifications in the breast, namely fine sand-like calcifications or needle-like calcifications. Most of the lesions that produce calcifications are benign, of which 1/5 to 1/4 are cancers. Currently, the diagnosis can be confirmed through stereotactic biopsy. There are also some breast cancers in which no lump can be felt and whose first symptom is nipple discharge. The diagnosis can be assisted by a cytological smear of the discharge or a ductoscopy. Paget's disease of the breast is also known as eczematoid breast cancer. Its clinical manifestations are very similar to chronic eczema. The nipple may be extremely itchy or accompanied by burning pain. The nipple and areola skin may become red, eroded, ulcerated, crusted, and desquamated, and even the nipple may retract, often accompanied by nipple discharge. It should be differentiated from chronic eczema and contact dermatitis in the early stage, and the diagnosis should also be based on pathological histological examination of the lesion site. In most inflammatory breast cancers, no lumps can be felt clinically. The breasts become diffusely hardened and enlarged, and the local skin becomes red, swollen, hot, and painful, resembling acute inflammation. The difference is that there are no systemic symptoms such as chills and fever, and the white blood cell count is often within the normal range. It should be differentiated from acute mastitis. Another type of breast cancer in which no lump can be felt is occult breast cancer. The primary lesion in the breast is often very small, only 1 to 2 mm, and is difficult to detect through clinical examination. Instead, the first symptom is axillary lymph node metastasis. Breast X-ray examination is helpful in detecting the primary lesion.