Left pneumonectomy for rapidly growing lung metastasis from phyllodes tumor

Distant metastases occur in 10-25% of malignant phyllodes tumors of the breast, heralding fatal outcome within few months. Only four cases of successful resection of solitary pulmonary metastases from phyllodes tumor are described in the literature. We report the case of a 67-year-old woman who developed rapidly growing metastases (volume doubling time: 25 days) in the left lung, two years after mastectomy for malignant phyllodes tumor. The left lung was the only site of 18-FDG uptake at total-body PET scan and the patient was successfully treated by left pneumonectomy.