BACKGROUND: Data from the literature suggests that the clinical picture of phyllodes tumor (PT) of the breast, as well as treatment options and perhaps therapy outcomes, have significantly changed. The aim of this work was to review these changes by analysis of consecutive patients with PT over a 55-year period at a single institution.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: From 1952 to 2007, 280 women with PT were treated surgically at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Memorial Institute of Oncology, Cancer Center in Cracow. Age, size of breast tumor, microscopic type, extent of surgery, and therapy outcomes were compared between 2 groups: 190 patients treated from 1952 to 1991 vs 90 patients treated from 1992 to 2007.

RESULTS: The results show that the 1992–2007 group compared to the 1952–1991 included more patients <50 years of age, with tumor <5 cm in diameter, undergoing breast-conserving therapy, as well as no evidence of disease at 5-year survival had increased and this change was statistically significant. In addition, malignant PT cases had decreased in frequency.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that patients with PT are increasingly younger, the breast tumors at diagnosis are smaller, malignant PT is becoming less frequent, and BCT is now the treatment of choice. Most importantly, the general treatment outcomes are significantly better.

Keywords: Aged, 80 and over, Breast Neoplasms - surgery, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century, Mastectomy, Segmental - trends, Phyllodes Tumor - surgery, Poland - epidemiology, Proportional Hazards Models