Fibroadenoma with vascular flow

A BiRads 4a is considered to be a less than 10% chance of being cancer

May0524

Short answer: The short answer is yes fibroadenomas are "vascular" in that they have a blood supply and do grow even though they are benign. The amount of flow is variable.

Long answer: The term "vascular" has gotten a bad rap over they years since cancers are rather vascular. Its the degree of vascularity that matters more than just yes or no. Some masses have vascularity that is barely detectible and some have so much that the whole mass appears as a blue and red flashing strobe light on the screen. In the scheme of things the cancers will have more flow than benign masses and cysts will have none. The reason is that cancers make and express a chemical that causes the formation of new blood vessels (neovascularity) which is how they grow. The vessels are abnormal and are leaky. It is this very attribute of the vessels that makes cancers show up so well on MRI.

Bottom line: In many practices (including mine) all newly discovered solid masses are routinely biopsied despite how benign they look, so recommending a biopsy does not mean its cancer.

May0524

As a rule radiologists prefer to do a minimally invasive image guided biopsy using a thin-needle-biopsy-gadget under US guidance. That way if its benign, you don't have a surgical scar to remind you of your ordeal.

This is only my opinion, but I feel that if your surgeon really thought this was a cancer they would not do an excisional biopsy, as a sentinel node resection would also have to be a part the procedure.

Let us know how it goes.