Postirradiation hemangiosarcoma of the chest wall. Report of a case

An unusual case of cutaneous hemangiosarcoma that developed on a chest wall irradiated after mastectomy for cancer is described. The patient, an elderly woman, had previously received high-dose radiation to the chest wall as well as systemic combination chemotherapy. Sarcoma developed 6 years after mastectomy and progressed rapidly. The time between radiation therapy and occurrence of cutaneous sarcoma was shorter than the median latent period reported for development of radiation-induced sarcoma. Thus, we cannot be certain that radiation was the true or sole etiologic factor. Whether the addition of systemic chemotherapy was a contributory agent is also speculative.