Immediate latissimus dorsi pedicle flap reconstruction following the removal of an eight kilogram giant phyllodes tumour of the breast: a case report

Giant Benign Mammary Phyllodes Tumor: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature

Phyllodes tumor of the breast is an infrequently encountered fibroepithelial neoplasm, which accounts for 0.3–1% of all tumors. Few case reports have described the occurrence of giant phyllodes tumor. To our knowledge, about 20% of phyllodes tumors would be considered giant benign. Complete surgical excision is the standard of care for giant benign phyllodes tumors; axillary lymph node metastasis is rare, and dissection should be limited to patients with pathologic evidence of tumor in the lymph nodes. We report the case of a 40-year-old Mexican woman with giant mammary tumor who underwent a right total mastectomy. The pathology results showed a benign phyllodes tumor 4,857 g in weight and 40.2 × 36.3 × 15 cm in size. We do not suggest adjuvant radiation therapy for patients with benign phyllodes tumors that are widely excised. A review of the pertinent literature was performed.

Relaxation systems of the skin for the closure of large mammary defects

In mammary tumors that are large relative to breast-size, complex reconstructive methods are required. We describe an alternative system of closure. In circumstances such as this, primary closure of this skin defect may be enabled by stress relaxation of the skin and the use of a tension-relief system. Tension-relief systems secures immediate primary closure of large skin defects in patients with large for breast-size tumors by placing the tension away from the skin edges. This enables early skin closure and rapid mobilization with good functionality. Optimal healing facilitates postoperative radiotherapy on time without reconstruction failure.

A large benign phyllodes tumour of the breast: A case report and literature review

•

Phyllodes is an uncommon tumour of the breast that should be considered in the middle age women with a rapidly enlarging breast mass.

•

There is no hallmark imaging characteristic of phyllodes tumour.

•

It is difficult to diagnose phyllodes based on a core biopsy due to the subjective nature of interpretation of the degree of stromal cellularity and degree of atypia.

•

Even if a phyllodes is diagnosed on core biopsy, an excision biopsy is always required to determine if it is a benign or malignant phyllodes tumour.

•

Complete systemic review of patient is important as in this case report, the patient’s malignant parotid tumour was diagnosed when she presented with her benign phyllodes tumour.

Introduction

Phyllodes tumours are uncommon fibroepithelial lesions that typically grow up to 4 cm in size but 10 cm tumours known as giant phyllodes tumours have been described. We present a case report of a 20 cm benign phyllodes tumour and a literature review.

Presentation of case

A 54 years old lady with an enlarging left breast mass measuring 20 cm of 6 months duration presented to our outpatient breast clinic. She also had an incidental right parotid lump. Core biopsy of the left breast mass returned as a cellular fibroepithelial lesion. A mastectomy and axillary lymph node sampling were done and skin cover was obtained from a split skin graft from the thigh. Final histology returned as a benign phyllodes tumour. Her post-operative recovery was uneventful.

Discussion

Phyllodes tumours are suspected in middle age women with rapidly enlarging painless breast masses. Though there are some suggestive features on ultrasound and MRI, the key to diagnosis is still histopathology. However, a pre-operative diagnosis may not always be possible as the interpretation of stromal cellularity and degree of atypia needed to differentiate cellular fibroadenoma from a phyllodes tumour is subjective. When a phyllodes tumour is suspected, adequate margins should be taken for optimal outcome.

Conclusion

Successful management of phyllodes tumour involves obtaining a pre-operative diagnosis via a core biopsy when possible and planning for adequate margins.

The largest and neglected giant phyllodes tumor of the breast-A case report and literature review

INTRODUCTION

Phyllodes tumours are rare fibro-epithelial lesions. The role of the pathologist in the preoperative diagnosis of phyllodes tumours of the breast is critical to appropriate surgical planning. Wide local excision or mastectomy with adequate margin remains the treatment of choice. Local recurrence occurs in approximately 10- 16.1% of patients (Wei et al., 2014) [1] and distant metastases occurs in 6.3-31% of patients with malignant phyllodes tumours (Wei et al. (2014), Chaney et al., 1998) [1,2] but only in 4% of all phyllodes tumours (Salvador et al., 1989) [3]. Emphasis should be given in early diagnosis and intervention to decrease morbidity and mortality.

Total mastectomy and chest reconstruction for a rapidly progressing giant phyllodes tumor with skin necrosis: a case report

Phyllodes tumors are rare fibroepithelial neoplasms of the breast. In the literature, borderline or malignant tumors have been reported to present with unusual characteristics including a short clinical history and extremely rapid tumor growth. Skin necrosis and infection sometimes accompanies these malignancies. Giant phyllodes tumors have a good prognosis when treated with total mastectomy, but reconstruction of the chest wall has been a challenge because of the need for a wide-range excision.

We report a case of a malignant phyllodes tumor that was initially diagnosed as borderline because sudden growth of the tumor contrarily induced sparse to moderate stroma cellularity in the sections of the tumor that were biopsied. Total mastectomy without axillary lymph node resection and chest wall reconstruction using a full-thickness mesh skin graft was performed. The patient has remained free from infection and recurrence for over a year since diagnosis.