Angiosarcoma of the breast following breast conservation therapy: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Breast conservation for early-stage breast cancer has become the standard of care in the last 2 decades. As part of breast conservation therapy (BCT), whole breast irradiation following lumpectomy is increasingly used, with many women surviving long term after treatment. Radiation-induced tumors typically occur after a latent period of several years. Sarcomas comprise 12% of these radiation-induced tumors.1 Among these, fibrosarcomas and chondrosarcomas have been described. Angiosarcomas, however, are rare, comprising only 1% of all soft tissue sarcomas2; because they are malignant tumors arising from the vascular endothelium, more commonly they involve skin and subcutaneous tissues. Only 8% of angiosarcomas occur in the breast; of these, primary sarcomas are extremely rare.2 The first case of secondary angiosarcoma of the breast following breast conservation therapy was described in 1987; since then, 221 cases have been reported world wide.3,4 Few of these cases of secondary angiosarcomas have been reported following postmastectomy chest wall radiation therapy. We describe in this report the clinical course of a patient who developed angiosarcoma of the irradiated breast 8 years following BCT.