Is fibrocystic breast disease a pre‐malignant state?

Fibrocystic disease is the most frequent lesion of the breast. When considered as a single diagnostic entity, benign breast disease has generally been reported to be associated with a relative risk of from 1.5 to 3.0 for breast cancer. Few studies have failed to find any association between fibrocystic breast disease and breast cancer. However, the term fibrocystic breast disease encompasses a variety of histologic changes and accordingly a variety of disignations. This lack of a clear classification may account for the divergent results in studies on the relationship between cystic disease and breast cancer. Some investigators have in fact examined the risk of breast cancer among women with various forms Of fibrocystic disease. Particularly high risks have been associated with atypical epithelial hyperplasia. There is disagreement among pathologists as to whether ductal papillomas are ‘precancerous’ or cancerous.