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Fibroepithelial tumours of the breast—a review

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Abstract

Fibroepithelial tumours of the breast are biphasic neoplasms composed of both epithelial and stromal elements, including the common fibroadenoma and the infrequent phyllodes tumour. The admixture of epithelium and stroma in the fibroadenoma shows intra- and pericanalicular patterns, and may display a variety of histological changes. Fibroadenoma variants include the cellular, juvenile, myxoid and complex forms. The cellular fibroadenoma may be difficult to distinguish from the benign phyllodes tumour. Stromal mitotic activity can be increased in fibroadenomas in the young and pregnant patients. Phyllodes tumours, neoplasms with the potential for recurrence, show an exaggerated intracanalicular growth pattern with broad stromal fronded architecture and stromal hypercellularity. They are graded into benign, borderline and malignant forms based on histological assessment of stromal features of hypercellularity, atypia, mitotic activity, overgrowth and the nature of the tumour borders. Classification of phyllodes tumours is imperfect, compounded by tumour heterogeneity with overlapping microscopic features among the different grades, especially in the borderline category. Malignant phyllodes tumours can metastasise and cause death. Determining which phyllodes tumours may behave aggressively has been difficult. The discovery of MED12 mutations in the pathogenesis of fibroepithelial tumours, together with other gene abnormalities in the progression pathway, has allowed refinements in diagnosis and prognosis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ms Valerie Koh and Ms Diyana Nasir, Research Officers, Department of Anatomical Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, for assistance in technical formatting and with Table 3, respectively.

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  1. Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Melinda F. Lerwill

  2. Department of Histopathology, Nottingham University Hospitals, Nottingham, UK

    Andrew H. S. Lee

  3. Division of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    Puay Hoon Tan

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Lerwill, M.F., Lee, A.H.S. & Tan, P.H. Fibroepithelial tumours of the breast—a review. Virchows Arch 480, 45–63 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-021-03175-6

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