Sarcoma development after radiotherapy in two dogs

Two dogs were treated with a hypofractionated course of radiotherapy following surgical excision of an intermediate grade mast cell tumour and a round cell tumour, respectively. Both dogs developed a sarcoma of the bone, within the irradiated site, several years after the initial radiotherapy treatment. Bone tumours arising within a previously irradiated area are well-recognized late radiotherapy side-effect in humans but have been reported infrequently in dogs. These are the first case reports to describe bone sarcomas in the appendicular skeleton at a site, which had been previously treated by a hypofractionated course of radiotherapy for an unrelated tumour.