Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate correlation between the breast fibroglandular tissue thickness ratio and mastalgia severity in patients with cyclic mastalgia.

Materials and Methods: Ninety-six women with mastalgia in premenopausal reproductive age were prospectively evaluated. All patients were evaluated by the same general surgeon and severity of mastalgia was assessed by using visual analogue scale (VAS). Breast fibroglandular tissue thickness ratio was defined as the ratio of fibroglandular tissue thickness to distance between skin and anterior chest wall muscles. These measurements were made in the periareolar areas in the upper-outer quadrants of both breasts with ultrasound. Pearson correlation coefficient test was used for statistical analysis.

Results: The patients’ ages were between 18 and 39 with a mean age of 30.1. The mean fibroglandular tissue thickness ratio of the whole group was 0.618 mm. The Pearson’s coefficient r value for the correlation between the mean breast fibroglandular tissue ratio and VAS scores was 0.791, which means that there is strong correlation. While we categorized patients in 3 groups as having mild, moderate and severe mastalgia The Pearson’s coefficient r value for correlation between the mean breast fibroglandular tissue ratio and severity groups is 0.737.

Conclusion: In our study we found that the mean breast fibroglandular tissue ratio is strongly correlated with mastalgia severity in patients with cyclic mastalgia. A more effective analgesic treatment approach and a more careful follow-up in terms of cancer should be applied to patients with high breast density.