SARCOMA OF THE BREAST - IMPLICATIONS OF THE EXTENT OF LOCAL THERAPY

Although the majority of breast neoplasms will be of epithelial origin , tumors of the stromal elements of the breast may occur. A retrospect ive review of the medical records and tumor registry data of 25 patien ts with breast sarcoma treated at Roswell Park Cancer Institute from 1 964 to 1995 was performed. There were 24 females and 1 male, with a me dian age of 55 years. Delay in seeking medical attention was common. A ngiosarcoma was the most common histologic type of breast sarcoma (n = 10). Mastectomy was the predominant form of local therapy (21 patient s). Overall survival was 61 per cent at 5 years and 36 per cent at 10 years. There was no difference in survival or local control rates for those patients treated with local excision when compared with patients treated with mastectomy. Sarcoma is an unusual form of breast tumor. Survival and local control are similar when comparing local excision a nd mastectomy. When local excision is performed, attention must be dir ected to achieving clear margins of resection. The benefit of adjuvant therapy remains undefined.