Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentPrevention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
Breast fatnecrosis(tissue death or damage) is a benign condition that can cause noncancerous lumps that feel likebreast cancerand look like tumors on amammogram. It accounts for 2.75% of all breast lesions.These lumps can occur in anyone, but they’re more common in assigned females at or around the age of menopause.
Breast fat necrosis can occur due to injury, afterbreast reductionsurgery or cancer treatment, or due to blood thinner therapy. People with large breasts or those diagnosed withobesityalso may experience it; a higher risk of cancer is linked to obesity in some people, even though the necrosis itself doesn’t cause breast cancer.
This article will outline some of the causes of breast fat necrosis, the procedures used to diagnose it, and how to treat it.
Symptoms of Fat Necrosis in Breasts
Fat necrosis develops when the body replaces damaged cells with firm scar tissue.
The effects can include:
Characteristics of fat necrosis include:
After the area of breast fat necrosis appears, it may increase in size, decrease in size, or stay the same. It may persist for years or may resolve, leaving behind fibrosis and calcifications that may be seen on a mammogram.
Necrosis Symptoms vs. Breast CancerMost people don’t experience symptoms of breast fat necrosis. But when people do feel their symptoms, the features (like skin tethering or nipple retraction) are similar to breast cancer in more than 50% of cases.Some symptoms, such as fatigue,unexplained weight loss, or swollenlymph nodes, are more common with breast cancer. It is important to seek medical care for a diagnosis.
Necrosis Symptoms vs. Breast Cancer
Most people don’t experience symptoms of breast fat necrosis. But when people do feel their symptoms, the features (like skin tethering or nipple retraction) are similar to breast cancer in more than 50% of cases.Some symptoms, such as fatigue,unexplained weight loss, or swollenlymph nodes, are more common with breast cancer. It is important to seek medical care for a diagnosis.
What Adenopathy Means With Cancer and Other Diseases
Injury
Radiation Treatment
The use of ionizingradiation to treat cancer cellsmay sometimes cause an area of fat necrosis that can be mistaken for a breast cancer recurrence.This may be more common in people who have accelerated partial radiation—a type of radiation given only to the part of the breast that has cancer in it—but fat necrosis may depend on radiation exposure level.
Types of Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer
Breast Surgery
Any type of breast surgery can damage the fatty tissue, including:
Fat necrosis is more common in those who have breast cancer surgery and also receive adjuvantchemotherapy, which is given to prevent recurrence of the original tumor. Fat necrosis also is a concern with fat grafting during reconstruction since it can be difficult to differentiate fat necrosis from a breast cancer recurrence.
Other Causes
Rarely, breast fat necrosis may be due to another health condition, including:
Breast Biopsy Procedure: What to Expect
Fat necrosis can be difficult to diagnose because it often looks and feels like many other types of breast lumps during a clinical breast exam.
A mammogram,ultrasound, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may identify a mass that looks like a malignant breast tumor: dense, with an irregular shape, a spiky border, and a collection of microcalcifications (tiny calcium deposits). An MRI can detect the amount of the inflammatory reaction, the amount of liquefied fat, and the degree of fibrosis.
Fat necrosis in the breast may appear to be atypicallipomaorliposarcoma, types of tumors that are very rarely found in breast tissue. If the fat has turned into liquid, it can look like a cyst on an ultrasound.
Fat necrosis can take on different appearances over time, so follow-up mammograms will show a change in the mass.
To diagnose fat necrosis, a biopsy is often needed.Oil cysts are usually diagnosed withneedle aspiration, a type of biopsy procedure in which a sample of the fluid is removed from the mass via a thin, hollow needle and then microscopically examined.
Getting a Biopsy: How to Prepare
According to the American Cancer Society, fat necrosis and oil cysts usually don’t need to be treated.Sometimes fat necrosis goes away on its own, as the body breaks it down over time.
If you’ve recently had a breast injury or surgery and you suspect fat necrosis, try warm compresses and gentle massage. With care, the tissue may heal.
When fat necrosis causes pain, you can take Advil or Motrin (ibuprofen) or aspirin. For severe pain, ask your healthcare provider about prescription pain medicine.
Even if your symptoms go away, be sure to mention them—and any other changes in your breast—to your healthcare provider.
Benign breast conditions like fat necrosis often develop without an explanation, so they can’t really be prevented. However, smoking cessation can help minimize risk of fat necrosis related to surgery.
Summary
Breast fat necrosis is a benign condition that can occur from trauma or surgical procedures such as breast augmentation or breast cancer surgery. It doesn’t increase a person’s risk for breast cancer. A clinical exam and mammogram are tools used to diagnose this condition and guide treatment.
Most cases of breast fat necrosis can be resolved with at-home remedies, like warm compresses, massage, and over-the-counter pain relief. Rarely, surgery may be used to remove a large lump.
Fat necrosis can be a challenge for healthcare providers. That said, through a combination of imaging studies and a biopsy, a diagnosis is possible. Talk to your healthcare provider to be sure the changes you’re experiencing are remnants of past damage to your breast tissue and nothing more.
12 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kerridge WD, Kryvenko ON, Thompson A, Shah BA.Fat Necrosis of the Breast: A Pictorial Review of the Mammographic, Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Findings with Histopathologic Correlation.Radiol Res Pract. 2015;2015:613139. doi:10.1155/2015/613139Vasei N, Shishegar A, Ghalkhani F, Darvishi M.Fat necrosis in the Breast: A systematic review of clinical.Lipids Health Dis. 2019 Jun 11;18(1):139. doi:10.1186/s12944-019-1078-4.Mohanty SS, Mohanty PK.Obesity as potential breast cancer risk factor for postmenopausal women.Genes Dis. 2019 Sep 10;8(2):117-123. doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2019.09.006.American Academy of Family Physicians.Benign Breast Conditions.American Cancer Society.Fat Necrosis and Oil Cysts in the Breast.Majithia J, Haria P, Popat P, Katdare A, Chouhan S, Gala KB,et al.Fat necrosis: A consultant’s conundrum.Front Oncol. 2023 Feb 16;12:926396. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.926396.Tayyab SJ, Adrada BE, Rauch GM, Yang WT.A pictorial review: multimodality imaging of benign and suspicious features of fat necrosis in the breast. Br J Radiol. 2018 Dec;91(1092):20180213. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20180213.Liu Y, Veale C, Hablitz D, Krontiras H, Dalton A, Meyers K,et al.Feasibility and Short-Term Toxicity of a Consecutively Delivered Five Fraction Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Regimen in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Partial Breast Irradiation.Front Oncol. 2022 Jul 8;12:901312. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.901312.Noor L, Reeves HR, Kumar D, Alozairi O, Bhaskar P.Imaging changes after breast reconstruction with fat grafting - Retrospective study of 90 breast cancer.Pak J Med Sci. 2016;32(1):8-12. doi:10.12669/pjms.321.9460Lee J, Park HY, Kim WW, Lee JJ, Keum HJ, Yang JD,et al.Natural course of fat necrosis after breast reconstruction: a 10-year follow-up study.BMC Cancer. 2021 Feb 16;21(1):166. doi:10.1186/s12885-021-07881-x.Columbia University Irving Medical Center.Non-Cancerous Breast Disease.Hwang K, Son JS, Ryu WK.Smoking and flap survival.Plast Surg (Oakv). 2018;26(4):280-285. doi:10.1177/2292550317749509Additional ReadingHickey B, Lehman M, Francis D, and A. See.Partial Breast Irradiation for Early Breast Cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.Kerridge, W, Kryvenko, O, Thompson, A, and B. Shah.Fat Necrosis of the Breast: A Pictorial Review of the Mammographic, Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Findings with Histopathologic Correlation. Radiology Research and Practice. 2015. 2015:613139.
12 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kerridge WD, Kryvenko ON, Thompson A, Shah BA.Fat Necrosis of the Breast: A Pictorial Review of the Mammographic, Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Findings with Histopathologic Correlation.Radiol Res Pract. 2015;2015:613139. doi:10.1155/2015/613139Vasei N, Shishegar A, Ghalkhani F, Darvishi M.Fat necrosis in the Breast: A systematic review of clinical.Lipids Health Dis. 2019 Jun 11;18(1):139. doi:10.1186/s12944-019-1078-4.Mohanty SS, Mohanty PK.Obesity as potential breast cancer risk factor for postmenopausal women.Genes Dis. 2019 Sep 10;8(2):117-123. doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2019.09.006.American Academy of Family Physicians.Benign Breast Conditions.American Cancer Society.Fat Necrosis and Oil Cysts in the Breast.Majithia J, Haria P, Popat P, Katdare A, Chouhan S, Gala KB,et al.Fat necrosis: A consultant’s conundrum.Front Oncol. 2023 Feb 16;12:926396. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.926396.Tayyab SJ, Adrada BE, Rauch GM, Yang WT.A pictorial review: multimodality imaging of benign and suspicious features of fat necrosis in the breast. Br J Radiol. 2018 Dec;91(1092):20180213. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20180213.Liu Y, Veale C, Hablitz D, Krontiras H, Dalton A, Meyers K,et al.Feasibility and Short-Term Toxicity of a Consecutively Delivered Five Fraction Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Regimen in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Partial Breast Irradiation.Front Oncol. 2022 Jul 8;12:901312. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.901312.Noor L, Reeves HR, Kumar D, Alozairi O, Bhaskar P.Imaging changes after breast reconstruction with fat grafting - Retrospective study of 90 breast cancer.Pak J Med Sci. 2016;32(1):8-12. doi:10.12669/pjms.321.9460Lee J, Park HY, Kim WW, Lee JJ, Keum HJ, Yang JD,et al.Natural course of fat necrosis after breast reconstruction: a 10-year follow-up study.BMC Cancer. 2021 Feb 16;21(1):166. doi:10.1186/s12885-021-07881-x.Columbia University Irving Medical Center.Non-Cancerous Breast Disease.Hwang K, Son JS, Ryu WK.Smoking and flap survival.Plast Surg (Oakv). 2018;26(4):280-285. doi:10.1177/2292550317749509Additional ReadingHickey B, Lehman M, Francis D, and A. See.Partial Breast Irradiation for Early Breast Cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.Kerridge, W, Kryvenko, O, Thompson, A, and B. Shah.Fat Necrosis of the Breast: A Pictorial Review of the Mammographic, Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Findings with Histopathologic Correlation. Radiology Research and Practice. 2015. 2015:613139.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Kerridge WD, Kryvenko ON, Thompson A, Shah BA.Fat Necrosis of the Breast: A Pictorial Review of the Mammographic, Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Findings with Histopathologic Correlation.Radiol Res Pract. 2015;2015:613139. doi:10.1155/2015/613139Vasei N, Shishegar A, Ghalkhani F, Darvishi M.Fat necrosis in the Breast: A systematic review of clinical.Lipids Health Dis. 2019 Jun 11;18(1):139. doi:10.1186/s12944-019-1078-4.Mohanty SS, Mohanty PK.Obesity as potential breast cancer risk factor for postmenopausal women.Genes Dis. 2019 Sep 10;8(2):117-123. doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2019.09.006.American Academy of Family Physicians.Benign Breast Conditions.American Cancer Society.Fat Necrosis and Oil Cysts in the Breast.Majithia J, Haria P, Popat P, Katdare A, Chouhan S, Gala KB,et al.Fat necrosis: A consultant’s conundrum.Front Oncol. 2023 Feb 16;12:926396. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.926396.Tayyab SJ, Adrada BE, Rauch GM, Yang WT.A pictorial review: multimodality imaging of benign and suspicious features of fat necrosis in the breast. Br J Radiol. 2018 Dec;91(1092):20180213. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20180213.Liu Y, Veale C, Hablitz D, Krontiras H, Dalton A, Meyers K,et al.Feasibility and Short-Term Toxicity of a Consecutively Delivered Five Fraction Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Regimen in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Partial Breast Irradiation.Front Oncol. 2022 Jul 8;12:901312. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.901312.Noor L, Reeves HR, Kumar D, Alozairi O, Bhaskar P.Imaging changes after breast reconstruction with fat grafting - Retrospective study of 90 breast cancer.Pak J Med Sci. 2016;32(1):8-12. doi:10.12669/pjms.321.9460Lee J, Park HY, Kim WW, Lee JJ, Keum HJ, Yang JD,et al.Natural course of fat necrosis after breast reconstruction: a 10-year follow-up study.BMC Cancer. 2021 Feb 16;21(1):166. doi:10.1186/s12885-021-07881-x.Columbia University Irving Medical Center.Non-Cancerous Breast Disease.Hwang K, Son JS, Ryu WK.Smoking and flap survival.Plast Surg (Oakv). 2018;26(4):280-285. doi:10.1177/2292550317749509
Kerridge WD, Kryvenko ON, Thompson A, Shah BA.Fat Necrosis of the Breast: A Pictorial Review of the Mammographic, Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Findings with Histopathologic Correlation.Radiol Res Pract. 2015;2015:613139. doi:10.1155/2015/613139
Vasei N, Shishegar A, Ghalkhani F, Darvishi M.Fat necrosis in the Breast: A systematic review of clinical.Lipids Health Dis. 2019 Jun 11;18(1):139. doi:10.1186/s12944-019-1078-4.
Mohanty SS, Mohanty PK.Obesity as potential breast cancer risk factor for postmenopausal women.Genes Dis. 2019 Sep 10;8(2):117-123. doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2019.09.006.
American Academy of Family Physicians.Benign Breast Conditions.
American Cancer Society.Fat Necrosis and Oil Cysts in the Breast.
Majithia J, Haria P, Popat P, Katdare A, Chouhan S, Gala KB,et al.Fat necrosis: A consultant’s conundrum.Front Oncol. 2023 Feb 16;12:926396. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.926396.
Tayyab SJ, Adrada BE, Rauch GM, Yang WT.A pictorial review: multimodality imaging of benign and suspicious features of fat necrosis in the breast. Br J Radiol. 2018 Dec;91(1092):20180213. doi: 10.1259/bjr.20180213.
Liu Y, Veale C, Hablitz D, Krontiras H, Dalton A, Meyers K,et al.Feasibility and Short-Term Toxicity of a Consecutively Delivered Five Fraction Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Regimen in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Partial Breast Irradiation.Front Oncol. 2022 Jul 8;12:901312. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.901312.
Noor L, Reeves HR, Kumar D, Alozairi O, Bhaskar P.Imaging changes after breast reconstruction with fat grafting - Retrospective study of 90 breast cancer.Pak J Med Sci. 2016;32(1):8-12. doi:10.12669/pjms.321.9460
Lee J, Park HY, Kim WW, Lee JJ, Keum HJ, Yang JD,et al.Natural course of fat necrosis after breast reconstruction: a 10-year follow-up study.BMC Cancer. 2021 Feb 16;21(1):166. doi:10.1186/s12885-021-07881-x.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center.Non-Cancerous Breast Disease.
Hwang K, Son JS, Ryu WK.Smoking and flap survival.Plast Surg (Oakv). 2018;26(4):280-285. doi:10.1177/2292550317749509
Hickey B, Lehman M, Francis D, and A. See.Partial Breast Irradiation for Early Breast Cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.Kerridge, W, Kryvenko, O, Thompson, A, and B. Shah.Fat Necrosis of the Breast: A Pictorial Review of the Mammographic, Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Findings with Histopathologic Correlation. Radiology Research and Practice. 2015. 2015:613139.
Hickey B, Lehman M, Francis D, and A. See.Partial Breast Irradiation for Early Breast Cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Kerridge, W, Kryvenko, O, Thompson, A, and B. Shah.Fat Necrosis of the Breast: A Pictorial Review of the Mammographic, Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Findings with Histopathologic Correlation. Radiology Research and Practice. 2015. 2015:613139.
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