Benign Lesions of the Breast

• Benign breast diseases come to attention as imaging abnormality or as clinical symptom or as incidental pathological finding. Since most breast discoveries are benign, any new symptom can cause a natural anxiety that leads women to fear the worst. • For benign breast diseases, clinical classifications should be abandoned in favour of a simpler and comprehensive classification based on three histological categories: nonproliferative lesions, proliferative lesions without atypia and proliferative lesions with atypia. • Most benign breast disorders derive from minor aberrations of the normal processes of development, cyclical activity and involution. • Diagnostic assessment of benign lesions is planned to rule out cancer or associated high-risk lesions. Surgery of benign lesions is aimed at symptomatic relief. A good part of treatment is patient information and education.