Primary breast fibromatosis in a male

A 41-year-old man presented with a painless left breast lump. Mamography with a core needle biopsy (immunohistochemical study) and axillary echography ruled out carcinoma and enlarged lymph nodes; the histologic study suggested a breast fibromatosis. He was operated on and a tumorectomy was carried out.

Fig. 1 demonstrates a composition of images: radiological (mamography and mammary echography), surgical procedure (lumpectomy) and macroscopical aspect of surgical specimen. The definitive pathological diagnosis was breast fibromastosis.

Figure 1.

Radiological (mamography and mammary echography), surgical procedure (lumpectomy) and macroscopical aspect of surgical specimen.

Mammary fibromatosis is a bizarre clinical entity, rarely reported in men,¹ but poses significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.² It usually presents with a palpable, firm, and painless mass that is difficult to differentiate from breast carcinoma based solely on the imaging approach.²

The optimal management is unknown owing to its rarity, a wide local excision with negative margins is considered the treatment of choice. There is a significant risk of local recurrence, but no metastasis potential, therefore there should be a strict follow-up of patients for at least three years.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The Human Investigation Committee (IRB) of University B approved this study.

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Funding

None declared.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.