Mammary hamartoma- a clinical dilemma.

UNLABELLED Mammary hamartoma is an uncommon benign lesion. The frequency of the tumor is reported between 0.04 -1.15% and it accounts for 4.8% of all benign breast tumors. The lesion may be under-diagnosed by the clinician because of the varied clinical presentation or by the pathologist, as the microscopic appearance is not distinctive. A case of left sided mammary hamartoma in a 46-year-old female who presented with a freely mobile mass is reported. A clinical diagnosis of fibroadenoma was made and lumpectomy performed. Histopathology and gross diagnosis confirmed it to be a case of mammary hamartoma. Extensive area of adenosis, focal cystic change, apocrine metaplasia and columnar cell change was noted. Identification of hamartoma is important because there are the problems of recurrence, co-existent carcinomas and association with Cowden syndrome. KEYWORDS Hamartoma, fibroadenoma, apocrine, metaplasia, ductal carcinomas.