Abstract
Breast lumps are the most common breast problems among young females in developing countries. Proper diagnosis of breast lumps in young women should be taken seriously as the diagnosis in this age group is more challenging. The present study aims to describe the different patterns of breast lumps among young Libyan females and identify their related risk factors. This was a cross-sectional study included Libyan women younger than 40 years and who attended the breast clinic at Tripoli central hospital over a period of 14 months including the conduction of a pilot study. Data was analyzed using the SPSS program. Among a total of 350 included patients, 15 (4.3%) had breast cancer, and 335 (95.7%) had benign breast diseases, of which, 145 (41.4%) were fibroadenomas and 110 (31.4%) were breast cysts. The mean age of breast cancer cases and those with benign breast diseases was 36.53±2.89 and 26.96± 6.34 years, respectively. There was a statistically significant association (P<0.05) between the type of breast disease and age, age at menarche, lack of breast feeding, overweight, stress, and positive family history of cancers. This study concludes that benign breast diseases are the most common breast lesions among young Libyan females, particularly, fibroadenomas. Singularity, null parity, lack of breast feeding, obesity, and exposure to stress were the most common risk factors of breast diseases among this age group. Key words: breast lumps, young women, breast lumps pattern, breast cancer, benign lumps.