The difference between breast fibroids and breast cysts

Women's breasts are a sensitive and fragile part of the body. Breast disease is a common disease among women and has a great impact on their physical health. Breast fibroids and breast cysts are both breast diseases with a high incidence rate. So what are the differences between the two?

Classification of fibroids of the breast:

1. Common type: The most common type, with a tumor diameter of 1 to 3 cm and slow growth.

2. Adolescent type: rare, occurs before menarche, the tumor grows fast and is larger, which can cause the skin to become tense and thin, and the skin veins to dilate.

3. Giant fibroadenoma: also known as lobed fibroadenoma, it is more common in adolescents aged 15 to 18 and premenopausal women over 40 years old. The tumor is often larger than 5 cm, and can even reach 20 cm, and is often lobed in shape.

Symptoms of fibroids in the breast :

It can occur in any quadrant of the breast, but is especially common in the upper outer quadrant. Adenomas are usually solitary but may occur multiple times. Adenomas are round or oval in shape, with diameters ranging from 1 to 3 cm being more common, and giant adenomas can occasionally be seen. It has a smooth surface, tough texture, clear boundaries, no adhesion to the skin and surrounding tissues, and great mobility. There was no axillary lymph node enlargement. Adenomas are usually painless and non-tender. Its size and characteristics generally do not change with the menstrual cycle. It usually grows slowly and may remain unchanged for several years, but it can increase rapidly during pregnancy and lactation, and some cases may undergo sarcoma-like changes. Breast fibroadenoma has little to do with breast cancer and the chance of it becoming malignant is low.

Breast cyst disease classification and symptoms:

Common breast cysts include simple cysts and milk cysts. Simple cysts are the most common breast cysts. It is mainly due to endocrine disorders that cause ductal epithelial hyperplasia and an increase in cells in the duct, resulting in duct extension, tortuosity, and folding. The duct wall at the fold becomes necrotic due to ischemia, forming a cyst.

The X-ray appearance of a simple cyst is a round or oval dense shadow with neat edges and uniform density. Because the cyst squeezes the surrounding fat tissue, a "translucent halo" often appears around the cyst wall; the density of the cyst is similar to or slightly denser than that of the breast gland. Single cysts are usually round; multiple cysts are usually oval, and are more common on both sides.

Galactocele, also known as milk retention cyst, is less common than simple cyst. It is mainly caused by blockage of a duct during lactation, which causes milk stasis and forms a cyst. The X-ray manifestation of milk cyst is a round or oval translucent area with a diameter of about 1 to 2 cm, and occasionally more than 3 cm; the cyst density is the same as the fat density; the cyst can be seen in any part of the breast, and it is most common to occur deep in the breast. The breast is composed of the nipple, breast wheel, breast tissue around the mammary gland and the skin covering them. Each breast has 15 to 20 mammary lobes, and each mammary lobe has a wheel of milk ducts leading to the nipple.