OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical and pathologicalcharacteristics, diagnosis and treatment of stromal sarcoma ofthe breast (SSB). Methods: The clinical and pathological dataof 6 patients with SSB treated between 1954 and 2007 wereretrospectively analyzed.METHODS The clinical and pathological data of 6 patients withSSB treated between 1954 and 2007 were retrospectively analyzed.RESULTS All patients were female and one was menopausal.The median age of the patients was 39 years old (range, 20-55).All cases had a history of a palpable mass. The tumor rapidlyaugmented in a short time period in 3 patients. One patient haddiscontinuous pain and 3 patients had masses located in the upperouter quadrant of the breast. The median tumor radius was 6.0cm (range, 3-15 cm). According to the AJCC breast cancer stagingstandard (6th edition), 1 case was of stage ⅡA, 2 cases were ofstage ⅡB, 2 cases were of stage ⅢB and one case couldn’t bestaged. Four patients were initially treated by excising the tumorand then undergoing mastectomy or modified radical mastectomyafter recurrence. Radical mastectomy was suitable for those withpectoralis major muscle involvement. Two patients receivedsimple mastectomy, 2 patients underwent radical mastectomy andanother 2 patients received modified radical mastectomy. Aftersurgery, all patients were identified as SSB through pathology,with focal ossification in one case and mucinous degeneration inanother one case. Four patients who underwent axillary lymphnode dissection did not have lymph node metastases. Threepatients received chemotherapy after surgery. After a medianfollow-up time of 36.5 months (8-204 months), 4 patients hadrecurrence after local excision and 3 patients had recurrence morethan 2 times with a median time to recurrence of 2.5 months (1to 4 months) after surgery. One patient had lung metastases at 7months after the initial surgery and the other 5 patients were alivewithout disease at the end of the follow-up period.CONCLUSION SSB is difficult to diagnose preoperativelyand is characterized by its tendency to recur locally. To obtainnegative margins, wide local excision or mastectomy must beperformed. Axillary lymph node dissection is not mandatory. Theroles of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy have still beencontroversial. OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of stromal sarcoma of the breast (SSB). Methods: The clinical and pathological data of 6 patients with SSB treated between 1954 and 2007 were reviewed. METHODS The clinical and pathological data of 6 patients with SSB treated Between 1954 and 2007 were retrospectively analyzed .RESULTS All patients were female and one was menopausal. The median age of the patients was 39 years old (range, 20-55) .All cases had a history of a palpable mass. The tumor rapidlyaugmented in One short time period in 3 patients. One patient had continuous dry pain and 3 patients had masses located in the upperouter quadrant of the breast. The median tumor radius was 6.0 cm (range, 3-15 cm). According to the AJCC breast cancer staging standard 6th edition), 1 case was of stage IIA, 2 cases were of stage ⅡB, 2 cases were of stage ⅢB and one case could not bestaged. g the tumorand then undergoing mastectomy or modified radical mastectomyafter recurrence. Two patients received simple radical mastectomy, 2 patients underwent radical mastectomy and an other 2 patients received modified radical mastectomy. All patients were identified as SSB through pathology, with focal ossification in one case and mucinous degeneration in one another and four patients who underwent axillary lymphnode dissection did not have lymph node metastases. Threepatients received chemotherapy after surgery. After a median follow-up time of 36.5 months (8-204 months) , 4 patients hadrecurrence after local excision and 3 patients had recurrence morethan 2 times with a median time to recurrence of 2.5 months (1to 4 months) after surgery. One patient had lung metastases at 7months after the initial surgery and the other 5 patients were alivewithout disease at the end of the follow-up period.CONCLUS ION SSB is difficult to diagnose preoperativelyand is characterized by its tendency to recur locally. To obtainnegative margins, wide local excision or mastectomy must beperformed. Theroles of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy have still beencontroversial.