Vol. 21 No. 1 (2023)
An Approach To:

Approach to: the Patient with a Palpable Breast Mass

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  • Rose Di Ioia
Rose Di Ioia
McGill
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26443/mjm.v21i1.1037

Published 2024-01-26

Keywords

  • breast mass,
  • breast lump,
  • breast cancer

How to Cite

1.
Di Ioia R. Approach to: the Patient with a Palpable Breast Mass . McGill J Med [Internet]. 2024 Jan. 26 [cited 2025 Oct. 27];21(1). Available from: https://mjm.mcgill.ca/article/view/1037

Copyright (c) 2025 Rose Di Ioia

Creative Commons License

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

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Abstract

Palpable breast masses are common reasons for presenting to the primary care or emergency clinic setting. Although most palpable masses are benign in etiology, the possibility of malignancy exists and may be anxiety-inducing to patients. A systematic approach to history-taking, to clinical breast examination and to imaging is important for the adequate evaluation of a palpable breast mass.

This article aims to provide medical students with a stepwise approach to the evaluation and diagnosis of palpable breast masses. Given the wide spectrum of diseases associated with palpable masses, the differential diagnosis and management is out of the scope of this paper. However, we will touch upon the breast cancers most commonly associated with breast masses and briefly mention their respective treatments.

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