Treatment of breast pain

Abstract

Breast pain is a common problem in the setting of both primary care and specialized breast treatment clinics. For the majority of women, breast pain is a self-limiting condition that requires no treatment other than reassurance. Nevertheless, in a few cases, severe, prolonged cyclical or noncyclical breast pain may affect social, sexual, and work aspects of the patient's life. Firstly, when confronted with patients complaining of breast pain, physicians must determine whether it is of mammary or extramammary source. If the problem originates from the breast itself, further management depends on its nature, severity, and duration. In average, only 3 per cent of patients complaining from breast pain require pharmacological treatment. In this study, we reviewed the main aspects of breast pain, its etiology, and its pharmacological treatment.