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Phyllodes Tumors Essay

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What are phyllodes tumors?

By Jonas Wilson, Ing. Med.

Phyllodes tumors (PTs) are rare fibroepithelial tumors of the breast that tend to display a wide range of biological behaviors. They account for no more than 1% of all breast tumors and are called “phyllodes,” which means “leaf-like” in Greek language, because of the “leaf-like” pattern they grow in. However, they were called by over 60 different names before being given the official terminology of PTs by the World Health Organization.

The diverse biological behaviors of PTs range from fairly benign-like to aggressive-like with distant metastases. Tumors with the latter characteristics may degenerate on a histological basis to sarcomatous lesions, which are devoid of epithelial tissue. PTs were previously known as cystosarcoma phyllodes, but this terminology evolved, because PTs are not true sarcomas by either biological or cellular characteristics.

Epidemiology

PTs are predominantly found in women between the fourth and sixth decades of life. There are some cases seen in adolescent girls, but these are rare. Peak incidence occurs around the age of 45, just before most women reach menopause. There is data that suggests that the tumor grade increases with the average age at the time of diagnosis. Some studies report a …show more content…

These tumors tend to be up to 5cm on average, but may be several times this size as well. Studies report that up to 90% of these tumors are benign, with around 10 to 15% of them being malignant. While benign tumors do not metastasize to distant sites, they tend to grow very aggressively and may recur locally. Their malignant counterparts behave like sarcomas and metastasize via the blood. The lungs are the most common site of metastasis. Other areas of spread include the heart, skeleton and liver. Most patients with metastasis cannot be cured and do no survive longer than 3 years after they have been initially

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