Study purposes were to determine the occurrence rate for preoperative breast pain; describe the characteristics of this pain; evaluate for differences in demographic and clinical characteristics; and evaluate for variations in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine genes between women who did and did not report pain. Patients (n=398) were recruited prior to surgery and completed self-report questionnaires on a number of pain characteristics. Genotyping was done using a custom genotyping array. Women (28.2%) who reported breast pain were significantly younger (p < 0.001); more likely to be non-white (p= 0.032); reported significantly lower Karnofsky Performance Status scores (p = 0.008); were less likely to be post menopausal (p = 0.012), and had undergone significantly more biopsies (p=0.006). Carriers of the minor allele for a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in interleukin (IL)1-receptor 1 (IL1R1) (rs2110726) were less likely to report breast pain prior to surgery (p = 0.007). Carriers of the minor allele for a SNP in IL13 (rs1295686) were more likely to report breast pain prior to surgery (p= 0.019). Findings suggest that breast pain occurs in over a quarter of women who are about to undergo breast cancer surgery. Based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics found, inflammatory mechanisms contribute to preoperative breast pain.