Breast growth that is considered abnormal only occurs on males, although women can have conditions similar to it. Women can have non-cancerous fibrocystic changes or breast lumps.
There is also a condition characterized by the early onset of adolescence or puberty in both genders, which is called precocious puberty. In young girls, this occurs before the age of 10. With telarche or breast budding, the growth of body hairs occurs at the same time. This is a sign that the hypothalamus has triggered the adrenal glands to start secreting androgens or sex hormones.
There might be no hormonal stability yet for both genders at a young age, so in boys, this instability causes gynecomastia. In young girls, there is breast budding, axillary hair growth, and change in body odor. The apocrine glands, which are responsible for the secretion of body oils and are abundant in the axilla, sides of the nose, groin, become more active at the onset of puberty. That is why there is a change in body odor, and that odor becomes permanent as long as the apocrine glands are functional.
When the body adjusts with the circulating androgens in the body, the reproductive organs also mature, which leads to the regulation and control of hormones in both genders. Testosterone in males become more abundant compared to estrogen, and what follows is the development of secondary sexual characteristics in males, like deepening of voice, growth of body hairs, etc. In female adolescents, menarche or the first menstrual period occurs.
Breast enlargement in women occurs during pregnancy. This prepares the breast lobules for milk production and storage. Females have lobules in their breasts, and this is why their breast’s structure differs from that of males. Both gender’s breasts have ductal, adipose (fatty) and fibrous tissues, though males lack lobules that produce milk. Breast enlargement in pregnant women is due to the influence of estrogen, progesterone, and growth hormones. Estrogen and progesterone are often thought to be exclusive to females but they are also present in males – in small levels.
Due to puberty and pregnancy, women can have tumors that are usually benign or non-cancerous, and these can be the counterpart of gynecomastia in males. These growths can become malignant depending on the women’s genetic and hereditary conditions. Normally, a woman who undergoes menstrual periods can have fibrocystic changes, characterized by a slippery lump in the breast, because of hormonal fluctuation. Days before the menstrual flow, the lump increases in size but subsides days after the period. It may be the breast tissue that is swollen when there is hormonal fluctuation during or before the menstrual period.
When a woman undergoes menopause, the estrogen and progesterone levels decrease, which in turn makes the breasts shrink, but for older men, this is the reverse. When testosterone levels decrease, gynecomastia is more likely to occur.
Breast enlargement in both genders need to be checked by a physician when the growth or lump is immovable, meaning it may have attached to the chest wall.
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