Pain and swelling of the breast, strong sensitivity to pressure and small nodules – these are the typical signs of mastopathy, the most common benign change of the breast gland tissue. About one in two women between the ages of 35 and 55 is affected by more or less severe benign changes in the breast tissue. At the same time, the changes themselves have no disease value – not every woman with mastopathy has symptoms.
Hormones out of balance
The exact cause of mastopathy is not known. But it is known that estrogen plays an important role in it. It is probably due to a disturbed ratio of the body’s sex hormones, progestin and estrogen, whereby estrogen eventually predominates over progestin. This occurs when too much estrogen is produced or when progestin production decreases.
In the long term, this hormone imbalance results in remodeling of the breast tissue. For example, connective tissue is remodeled, resulting in hardening and the development of scars and nodules. In addition, large or small cysts may form or water may accumulate in the tissue. If pain exists, it is often cycle-related, with the most severe discomfort just before the onset of the period. As bleeding begins, the pain usually decreases.
Diagnosis of mastopathy
Many women notice themselves when the breast changes. It feels harder when palpated, nodules can be felt, or there is pain to the touch. Rarely, there is also fluid secretion from the nipple. And almost always the changes occur on both sides. The doctor will be able to make an initial tentative diagnosis on the basis of the palpatory findings, the age of the woman and the usually cycle-dependent pain.
However, every change can in principle also be due to a malignant cause, which even the doctor cannot detect by palpation alone. In order to exclude this, further examinations are necessary. These include a mammogram, usually an ultrasound examination of the breast and if there is still uncertainty, also a targeted tissue sampling.
