Objectives Phyllode breast sarcomas are rare fibroepithelial tumors that account for less than 0.5% of all breast tumors. Due to their rarity and heterogeneity, it was difficult to establish an optimal therapeutic protocol.

Methods We carried out a retrospective study of 18 cases of Phyllode breast sarcomas collected at Salah Azaïz Institute between 2004 and 2013.

Results The mean age was 48.8 years. The average delay of consulting was 12.3 months. A breast lump palpation was the chief complaint (97% of cases). The mean tumor size was 12.3 cm. Seventeen patients (94.4%) underwent mastectomy and one patient underwent wide lumpectomy. Adjuvant radiotherapy was done in 13 cases (72.2%), while chemotherapy was administrated to 5 patients (27.7%). After a follow-up ranging from 4 to 124 months, 5 patients (27.7%) developed local recurrences and 6 patients (33.3%) developed distant metastases. The median overall survival was 10 months and the median disease-free survival was 7 months. An analytical study of the parameters age, tumor size, mammographic appearance, presence or absence of metastases and local recurrences showed no correlation with the histological subtype (p> 0.05). In univariate analysis, the identified overall survival prognostic factors were surgical margins <1 cm (p = 0.005) and tumor necrosis (p = 0.028).

Conclusions Phyllode breast sarcomas are rare tumors. The therapeutic approach is not well codified. Multicenter studies are needed to establish an optimal therapeutic strategy.