title: Giant malignant phyllodes tumor: a case report.
abstract: We present a case of a 57-year-old woman with a giant malignant phyllodes tumor (PT) in her right breast, with maximum diameter of 20 cm. The core-needle and excisional biopsy specimens were diagnosed as suspicious for low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma (LGMS). The subsequent total mastectomy with partial resection of the pectoral muscles showed predominance of stromal hypercellularity without an epithelial component. However, we diagnosed this as a malignant PT because focal areas showed a leaf-like pattern. In the case of large malignant PTs that exhibit stromal predominance, it can be difficult to distinguish between a pure sarcoma and malignant PT. It is important to thoroughly examine multiple sections from the view point of residual epithelial structure in morphological diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume University Hospital, Kurume University, Kurume 830-0011, Japan. takenaka_miki@kurume-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takenaka
authors.forename: Uhi
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Toh
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Nobutaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iwakuma
authors.forename: Shino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Teruhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Rin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Hirohisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirouzu
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kage
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015413:Mastectomy, Simple; D008875:Middle Aged; D003557:Phyllodes Tumor / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome