A 40 year old female patient has breasts with a soft texture, but uneven contour bilaterally. What is the most likely diagnosis?

A 40 year old female patient has breasts with a soft texture, but uneven contour bilaterally. What is the most likely diagnosis?

options:

malignancy

fibroadenoma

normal finding

cystic breasts"

The primary differential diagnoses that can be considered in a breast that has a soft texture but with an irregular margin in the examination of a 40-year-old female are cystic breasts.

 Rationale:

 Cystic breasts (Fibrocystic Breast Changes): This condition is also characterized by nodularity in the breasts The nodularity can be bilateral in nature. These lumps are benign and are usually as a result of cysts or fibrosis tissues.

 Fibroadenoma: This is most often a single, hard, and spherical mass that is not ordinarily ‘pnev-matous’ and may not even be bilaterally nodular.

 Malignancy: Breast cancer may lead to formation of lumps but is mostly hard, irregular shaped and single while a soft lump with an uneven margin on both breast is likely to be a fibroadenoma.

 Normal finding: Soft texture with irregular shape could be a variation that is normal for some women, if the changes are persistent – they possibly are, due to the irregularity of the contour – then cystic breasts are more likely.

 Conclusion: Based on the description of the physical examination the most probable diagnosis is cystic breasts.