Histopathological Patterns of Female Breast Lesions at a Secondary Level Care in Saudi Arabia

Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize the histopathological patterns of female breastlesions encountered at a secondary level of care centre in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia, with special emphasis onmultiplicity of benign lesions, their proliferative nature and level of risk for progression.
Methods: In thisretrospective, hospital record-based descriptive study, all histopathology records of patients attending KingFahd Hospital in Hofuf, Al Hassa between January 2001 and December 2007, were reviewed using a structuredcompilation form. Nine hundred and sixty nine histopathology reports were legible and included. Data regardingtype of specimens, age, laterality of the lesions and the prominent cellular morphology were analyzed.
Results:Out of 969 records reviewed, benign lesions accounted for 60.1%, followed by malignancy (21.4%) andinflammatory lesions (18.5%). Multiple benign lesions were found in 51.1% and more than two lesions in 21.1%of cases. Non-proliferative breast lesions with low risk were reported in 81.4%, intermediate risk lesion withouthyperplastic atypia in 14.6%, while high risk lesions with atypia were only 4.0%. Infiltrating ductal carcinomawas the dominant lesion among the latter and 62.1% of cases were diagnosed before the age of 50 years.
Conclusion: Benign breast lesion multiplicity is frequent among Saudi female patients; with or without atypiathese lesions represent a sizable risk of potential progression to breast cancer. Meticulous follow up with frequentscreening may be useful for prevention of cancer development and early intervention in affected patients.