Surgical Management of Benign and Borderline Phyllodes Tumors of the Breast.

Phyllodes tumors (PT) are uncommon fibroepithelial breast neoplasms and there is currently no clear consensual treatment for these tumors. The aim of our study was to evaluate the surgical management and outcome of benign and borderline PT. We retrospectively assessed 76 cases of benign or borderline PT managed at the Leon Berard comprehensive cancer center in Lyon, France between July 2003 and December 2013. The mean age at diagnosis was 37.9 years and the median follow-up was 58 months. Seventy-five patients (99%), with a mean tumor size of 27 mm, underwent a breast-conserving procedure. The tumor margins were considered positive (when the tumor was present at the inked surgical section) in seven of 76 cases (9%) and negative in 65 out of 76 cases (86%). We observed the presence of small negative surgical margins <10 mm in 89% and <1 mm in 71% of the patients. Although no re-excision was performed to increase these margins, we did not see any increase in the local recurrence rate (4%) when compared to recurrence rates reported in the literature. We thus suggest that systematic revision surgery for close or positive surgical margins for benign PT should not be systematically performed. However, as recurrences occur within 2 years of initial excision, we recommend a regular clinical and imaging follow-up especially during this period for which patient's compliance is essential.

Placental site and epithelioid trophoblastic tumours: diagnostic pitfalls.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and histological pitfalls in the diagnosis of placental site trophoblastic tumours (PSTT) and epithelioid trophoblastic tumours (ETT), two rare types of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). METHODS: This retrospective, observational, study was carried out in the French Trophoblastic Disease Reference Centre, Lyon, between 2000 and 2011. Due to the many similarities in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of PSTT and ETT, these two types of tumour were investigated together. Twenty-two patients with PSTT or ETT were analysed. RESULTS: The clinical presentation of these two types of tumour was irregular vaginal bleeding (55%) or amenorrhoea (27%), with a median plasma hCG level of 205IU/L. Seven of the 22 patients (32%) were initially misdiagnosed as an ectopic pregnancy. Median age at presentation was 35-years, with a median interval of 12months between the antecedent pregnancy and diagnosis of PSTT or ETT. The initial histological diagnosis was incorrect in 7/18 (39%) patients; there was a major disagreement with the referral pathologist in five of these seven patients (28%). CONCLUSIONS: PSTT and ETT are the most difficult types of GTN to diagnose clinically and histologically. An incorrect diagnosis can lead to significant therapeutic deviations from the recommended first-line treatment, namely hysterectomy. Clinical and histological expertise is essential to avoid the pitfalls in the diagnosis of PSTT and ETT.