Synchronous development of prostate sarcoma and squamous cell carcinoma following radiotherapy

With the development of more sensitive screening tools, malignancies are being diagnosed at an earlier stage, resulting in earlier intervention and longer survival times. As a consequence, the long-term complications of cancer therapy are increasing in incidence, particularly second primary cancers from radiation therapy. Bladder and colorectal cancers are the most commonly reported malignancies secondary to radiation therapy for prostate cancer. We present the case of a 78-year-old patient with a remote history of prostate adenocarcinoma, status post brachytherapy, who subsequently developed both prostate sarcoma and prostate squamous cell carcinoma secondary to the prior treatment. Because his cancer was metastatic, he was not a candidate for surgery and was treated with chemotherapy and palliative radiation.