Benign Phyllodes Tumors of the Breast
Phyllodes tumors are rare and make up fewer than 1% of all breast tumors. Phyllodes tumors start in the stroma, the connective tissue of the breast.
The name comes from the Greek word for leaf because the cells grow in a pattern that looks like a leaf.
About 75% of phyllodes tumors are benign (non-cancerous).
Symptoms of benign phyllodes tumors
Phyllodes tumors grow quickly, so they’re usually felt as a breast lump first. It can be difficult to tell the difference between a benign phyllodes tumor and a fibroadenoma, which is the most common type of benign breast tumor.
Diagnosis of benign phyllodes tumors
In some cases, your doctor will be able to make a diagnosis after a biopsy, but in other cases, the entire tumor will need to be removed before your doctor can tell what kind of tumor it is and whether it’s cancerous or not.
Phyllodes tumor treatment
Whether the phyllodes tumor is non-cancerous or cancerous, the first treatment is always surgery:
lumpectomy is the most common surgery done to remove a phyllodes tumor; the tumor, plus a margin of healthy, cancer-free tissue around it is removed
mastectomy may be done if a margin of cancer-free tissue can’t be removed with the tumor during lumpectomy
Phyllodes tumors usually don’t spread to the lymph nodes, so lymph node surgery isn’t needed.
Being diagnosed with a benign phyllodes tumor doesn’t increase your risk of breast cancer.
Benign phyllodes tumors can come back, either in the breast, if you had lumpectomy, or in the skin and underlying tissues of the breast, if you had mastectomy. In very, very rare cases, phyllodes tumors may come back in a part of the body away from the breast.
So you and your doctor will develop a survivorship care plan that will likely include more frequent screening, including:
a breast physical exam every six to 12 months
a mammogram at least every 12 months; your screening plan may include both a mammogram and breast MRI each year, done 6 months apart
Learn about Cancerous Phyllodes Tumors of the Breast.
— Last updated on March 29, 2025 at 3:38 PM