Fibroepithelial lesion with cellular stroma

[millie1980]

I am a 25 year old woman who recently found a large lump in my right breast.  After having it ultrasounded & mammogrammed I was told that I had a 3 cm mass that was probably a fibroid & was ordered a biopsy.  Now, after the biopsy I am told that what I have is a Fibroepithelial Lesion with cellular stroma and that it will have to be removed.  My doctor mentioned that it might be a Phyllode Tumor.  My question is can they tell this is a Phyllode before excising it and if it is a Phyllode is this something that I need to be overly concerned about? I have been doing a lot of research and what I have found is that PT's are very rare and usually only occur in women 45+ but they can be malignant & often reoccur.  I'm totally confused is a PT considered a fibroid?

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear millie1980:  The term phyllodes tumor includes a group of lesions of varying malignant potential ranging from completely benign (non-cancerous) to fully malignant (cancerous) sarcomas.  It is not the same thing as a fibroadenoma.  If there is something concerning about the biopsy or the way the lesion appears, it may be that the doctor feels that a needle biopsy may not be adequate and that removing the entire area will be the better choice.  You might ask for a clarification from him/her.

IF it is a phyllodes tumore, approximately 20% will recur locally if removed with no margin or a margin of a few millimeters of normal breast tissue, regardless of whether they are benign or malignant. A wide excision with a 2cm margin of normal breast tissue is appropriate therapy for benign and borderline phyllodes tumors unless they are so large that this is not cosmetically feasible.