Primary liposarcoma of the breast: a report of 5 cases

Liposarcoma of the breast is among the rarest of malignant mammary tumors. It was first described by Neumann in 1862 and accounts for 0.3% of all breast sarcomas. We reviewed in this study 5 cases of primary liposarcoma of the breast treated between 1997 and 2014 in Salah Azaiez institute. The purpose of this study is to highlight one of the rarest and interesting variant of breast sarcoma. The patients were four women and one man. The median age at diagnostic was 50 years for the women. The man was 80 years old. The median tumor size was 6.8 cm. All liposarcomas were unilateral. Four patients underwent total mastectomy and only one had a conservative surgery. Histologically, four tumors were classified as pleomorphic liposarcoma and one as myxoid liposarcoma. None of the patients had axillary lymph node metastases. Four patients had adjuvant treatment involving local radiation therapy, one of them had chemotherapy. None of the patients had regional or distant metastases with median follow up of 56 months (range, 12 to 204 months) after surgery. An immunohistochemical study should be considered in order to avoid misdiagnosis.  The mainstay of treatment in breast liposarcoma is surgical excision. Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation should be considered in high-risk cases.