Long-term outcome of benign fibroadenomas treated by ultrasound-guided percutaneous excision

Abstract:  Surgical as well as conservative treatment has been described for fibroadenomas. Both have disadvantages. A minimally invasive treatment, ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted percutaneous excision has been shown to facilitate the removal of all imaged evidence of benign breast lesions, including fibroadenomas up to 3 cm in diameter. This study is performed to assess the long-term outcome of ultrasound-guided percutaneous excision as a minimally invasive treatment for fibroadenomas. A retrospective review of 69 consecutive fibroadenomas treated with ultrasound-guided percutaneous excision between May, 2001 and December, 2005 was carried out. All these lesions underwent percutaneous excision of all imaged lesion evidence. Clinical and sonographic follow-up was recommended for all patients every 6 months. Initial size, location, and patient age were recorded for each treated lesion. Of 69 lesions treated, 52 were available for follow-up. The median follow-up period was 22 months, with a range of 7 to 59 months. At 6 months, there were no fibroadenoma recurrences. Follow-up sonography demonstrated recurrences in 13 lesions distributed across eight patients. The overall recurrence rate was 15% (8/52) with an actuarial recurrence rate of 33% at 59 months. All of the recurrences were in lesions which were larger than 2 cm in size at initial presentation. Our data suggest that the mechanism of recurrence is the regrowth of retained lesion fragments too small to be detected by ultrasound—not the incomplete excision of all imaged lesion evidence. Despite successful percutaneous excision, fibroadenomas do recur. Lesions smaller than 2 cm in size, so treated, do not need additional therapy or surveillance. Fibroadenomas larger than 2 cm are prone to recurrence and require additional treatment.