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Evaluation of 1294 Female Patients with Breast Pain: A Retrospective Study

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Abstract

Introduction

Mastalgia, or breast pain, is one of the most important complaints referred to outpatient clinics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the factors causing mastalgia. All patients who presented to our clinic with complaints of mastalgia were assessed along with their type of mastalgia symptoms, menopausal status, and radiology results.

Methods

A total of 3157 patients with mastalgia complaints visited our clinic between January 2015 and February 2018. Only 1294 of them were retrospectively screened. Age, sex, menopausal (premenopausal, postmenopausal) status, mastalgia type (cyclic, non-cyclic), and imaging findings of the patients were examined.

Results

The mean age was 43.8 ± 11.8 (13–86) years, with 453 (35%) patients younger than 40 years and 841 (65%) older than 40. Cyclic mastalgia was found in 207 (16%) patients, and non-cyclic mastalgia was seen in 1087 (84%) patients. A total of 786 (60.7%) patients were premenopausal, and 508 (39.3%) were postmenopausal. Mammography was used in 545 (42.1%) patients; 1190 (92.0%) women had breast ultrasonography.

Conclusion

Although breast pain is a common symptom in women who are referred to breast outpatient clinics, we concluded that patients who complain of mastalgia should not be afraid of cancer. Despite this and for reassurance, clinical imaging may be necessary to alleviate these patients’ suspicions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the participants of this study.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The article processing charges were funded by the authors.

Editorial Assistance

We would like to acknowledge the American Journal Experts for their outstanding scientific proofreading and editing services that was provided for this manuscript.

Authorship

All named authors meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship for this article, take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole and have given their approval for this version to be published.

Disclosures

Yasemin Altıntas and Mehmet Bayrak have nothing to disclose.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Written approval was obtained from the Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine Clinical Ethical Board.

Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article as supplementary information files.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Ozel Ortadogu Hospital, Adana, Turkey

    Yasemin Altıntas

  2. Department of General Surgery, Ozel Ortadogu Hospital, Adana, Turkey

    Mehmet Bayrak

Authors
  1. Yasemin Altıntas
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  2. Mehmet Bayrak
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Correspondence to Yasemin Altıntas.

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Cite this article

Altıntas, Y., Bayrak, M. Evaluation of 1294 Female Patients with Breast Pain: A Retrospective Study. Adv Ther 35, 1411–1419 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-018-0769-y

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