When assessing a breast lump, certain clinical features are important. These can help to determine which type of pathology is present. The likelihood of certain conditions depends mainly upon age. Breast cancers are more often irregular in shape. The texture of a lump can suggest its nature.
Fibrocystic lumps can assume different degrees of texture.
They are often hard but not always, and when assessing consistency, it is important to consider the texture of the normal surrounding breast tissue. Breast cancers are usually hard on palpation. This is not always the case however, and they can present in a similar way to the others listed above. The mobility of a breast lump is an important clinical feature because breast cancers are often fixed as a result of their ability to invade surrounding tissues and therefore do not seem to move much when examined. Size Size is not quite so reliable as a clinical feature, especially with regard to cancer, because cancer can manifest as a lump of any size.