A Case of Nipple Adenoma With Long-Term Follow-Up Without Change in Malignancy - Case Report

Sep 21, 2026

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Nipple adenomas are rare benign tumors, and the timing and risk of carcinogenesis remain unclear. This case describes a 76-year-old Japanese woman diagnosed at 52 with left nipple adenoma by biopsy after noticing erosion. Follow-up of the lesion was performed at her request, though she declined mammography and repeat biopsy. After 24 years, surgery was requested due to increasing bloody exudate; imaging showed no malignancy, and pathology confirmed nipple adenoma without malignant findings.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Case Presentation

Clinical background

Follow-up and symptom progression

Preoperative imaging

Surgical procedure and pathology

Figures

Review began 08/27/2024 Review ended 09/02/2024 Published 09/03/2024 © Copyright 2024 Yorita et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0. , which permits unrestricted use , distribution , and reproduction in any medium , provided the original author and source are credited. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.68578 Open Access Case Report A Case of Nipple Adenoma With Long-Term Follow-Up Without Change in Malignancy Kenji Yorita 1, Norihiro Hokimoto 2 1. Diagnostic Pathology, Japanese Red Cross Kochi Hospital, Kochi, JPN 2. Surgery, Japanese Red Cross Kochi Hospital, Kochi, JPN Corresponding author: Kenji Yorita, [kenjiyorita@gmail.com](kenjiyorita@gmail.com) Abstract Nipple adenomas are rare benign tumors. The risk of carcinogenesis and the exact time of cancerization of nipple adenomas is unknown. We report a case of nipple adenoma in a 76-year-old Japanese woman. At the age of 52, she noticed erosion of her left nipple and was diagnosed with nipple adenoma by biopsy at a nearby hospital. A follow-up of the left nipple lesion was performed at the patient’s request; however, she refused to undergo mammography and biopsy. The patient requested surgery for the left nipple lesion after 24 years of follow-up because of increasing bloody exudates from the nipple lesion. The preoperative radiological examination did not reveal malignancy in either breast, and a left nipple-areolar resection was performed. A nipple adenoma was identified by pathological diagnosis; however, no malignant findings were observed. The present case appears to have the longest follow-up period ever reported. This case is valuable because follow-up may be a clinical management option for nipple adenomas. Categories: Pathology, Dermatology, General Surgery Keywords: follow up, pathology, surgery, breast, nipple adenoma Introduction Nipple adenoma is a rare benign tumor [1] . Surgical management for nipple adenomas is often selected due to their troublesome symptoms, as supported by numerous published surgical reports [2] . Follow-up studies for nipple adenomas have been reported, and changes in malignancy of nipple adenomas are believed to be rare [2,3] . Several cases of nipple adenomas becoming cancerous over a long period have been reported [3-6]. Therefore, a long-term follow-up for nipple adenomas might be important to learn about their natural history. However, the natural history of nipple adenomas may not be well known as long-term follow-up studies, as was seen in our case, have been hardly reported. To the best of our knowledge, the longest followup period for nipple adenoma was approximately 19 years in previous cases [3] . Here, we report the case of a 76-year-old Japanese woman with a left nipple adenoma with 24 years of follow-up. Such long-term followup has not yet been reported. After follow-up, surgery for nipple adenoma was performed as per her request, and a pathological evaluation was conducted. Clinicopathological findings in our case are presented, and the management of the nipple adenoma is discussed. Case Presentation A 68-year-old Japanese woman was referred to our hospital for a follow-up of a left nipple lesion caused by movement. She noticed the erosion of the left nipple at the age of 52, and nipple adenoma was diagnosed by biopsy at another hospital (detailed data were not available), where the nipple lesion had been followed up as requested. Other medical histories included type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. No family history of breast or ovarian cancer was reported. The nipple lesion appeared as an erosion on the upper and outer portions ofthe left nipple at age 68 (Figure 1a) . Routine mammography every 1-2 years was recommended ; however, the patient refused. The incidence of hemorrhagic exudates from the nipple lesion increased over the past several years. A second biopsy of the nipple lesion was recommended, but the pa

FAQs

Why was long-term follow-up considered important for nipple adenoma?

Long-term follow-up may help clarify the natural history of nipple adenomas, because changes in malignancy are believed to be rare and long-term data are limited.

What led to surgery after 24 years of follow-up?

Surgery was requested when the patient experienced increasing bloody exudates from the nipple lesion.

What did preoperative imaging and pathology show?

Preoperative imaging did not reveal abnormalities or malignancy, and postoperative pathological evaluation identified nipple adenoma without malignant findings.

Sep 21, 2026

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