Ask a doctor - What is the medication for fibroadenoma?

Q. What is the medication for fibroadenoma?

Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.

Answered by Secondmedic Expert

Fibroadenomas are noncancerous (benign) breast tumors, typically found in women under the age of 30. A fibroadenoma is made up of a mix of connective tissues and glandular tissues within the breast. The exact cause or triggers for these tumors is unknown, however research suggests that hormone levels play some role in their development.

The most common treatment option for fibroadenomas is observation—which means regular follow-up by your doctor to make sure it hasn’t grown or changed—though this isn't advised with large tumors or if massive size increase occurs. If surgery is necessary to remove the tumor, then it's typically done through an excisional biopsy during which all tissue surrounding the tumor can be removed as well as a portion of normal tissue from around it—this helps ensure that all parts are removed safely and completely and can also help reduce chances of recurrence in more complex cases.

In some cases where medications may be used instead of surgery; these treatments include hormone therapy such as birth control pills (if applicable), tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors, danazol, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHag). These drugs act to suppress hormones that could contribute to future fibroadenoma growths while reducing current symptoms associated with hormonal imbalances causing pain or discomfort. Tamoxifen specifically has been found helpful in treating both painful lumpy breasts generally caused by hormonal imbalance but further studies need to be conducted before considering this type medication an effective treatment for fibroadenomas themselves since there have not been sufficient trials dedicated solely towards its use thus far. Finally estrogen receptor modulators have also been found useful when combined with tamoxifen making them one possible alternative for treating symptomatic lumps although further research is still needed here too before any definitive statement can be made about their efficacy over traditional surgical interventions alone.