A retrospective review of phyllodes tumors of the breast from a single institution

BACKGROUND: Phyllodes tumors (PTs) are rare fibroepithelial breast tumors with diverse biological behavior.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the characteristics, management, and outcome of phyllodes tumors.
METHODS: Patients diagnosed with PTs in our institution from January 2013 to December 2017 were identified retrospectively by the ICD-10 code. Data were collected from medical records. The diagnosis of this tumor was based on histopathological results. Variables analyzed included age, tumor site, surgical option, axillary lymph nodes, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, metastases, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) rate.
RESULTS: Sixty-nine cases of PTs were diagnosed during the period, of which 31 were benign, 38 were malignant, and 1 was a case of bilateral metachronous tumors. We did not find any borderline pathologic cases. The patient’s ages ranged from 20 to 71 years, with the highest number of cases (28) from the 40-49-year-old age group. The majority of patients (42) had PT on the right side. Simple mastectomy was the most performed treatment, with 53 such cases, including both benign and malignant. The axillary staging was carried out in 16 cases, of which none had nodal metastasis. Ten cases received chemotherapy, and 16 cases of malignant phyllodes received postoperative radiotherapy. We found 4 cases with distant metastases and 5 cases that developed local recurrence. The DFS rate reached 92.75%, and the overall 5-year survival rate was 84.21%.
CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of PTs is highest in women in the 3rd and fourth decades of age. Simple mastectomy and wide excision are the treatments of choice, with a low recurrence rate in both benign and malignant PTs cases.