Lymphangiosarcoma of the hand arising in a pre-existing non-irradiated lymphangioma

Lymphangioma is an uncommon lesion which is widely believed not to undergo malignant change. Lymphangiosarcoma is even rarer and most of the cases reported in the literature were encountered in the setting of chronic lymphoedema, although occasional cases have been reported in irradiated lymphangiomata. This brief communication describes a case of multifocal lymphangiosarcoma arising in a non-irradiated, long standing lymphangioma of the hand. To our knowledge no similar case has been reported previously in the English literature, which is briefly reviewed.