Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Breast, Oncology, Mammography, MR, Ultrasound, Contrast agent-intravenous, Cancer, Not applicable
Authors:
D. SÁNCHEZ GARCIA, A. Fernández Tamayo, P. ELVIRA RUIZ, J. CABO BOLADO, J. M. Zulueta Odriozola, E. García Laborda, F. J. Olcoz Monreal, O. Bueno Zamora; Madrid/ES
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2020/C-14516
Background
Sarcomas of the breast constitute a very rare entity (they represent approximately 0.2 – 1 % of all malignant neoplasms of the breast). Among this group of neoplasms we find the angiosarcomas, a malignancy of endovascular origin, with very few cases described in the literature. They can be primary or secondary.
- Primary angiosarcoma is not associated with any risk factor and occur in younger woman, usually in the third and fourth decades of life. They have an stimated incidence of 0.04 % of all breast cancers.
- Secondary angiosarcoma is distinguished from primary angiosarcoma in that it is apparently associated with a certain number of risk factors, being the most common in the women the radiotherapeutic treatment. Another well-known risk factor is lymphedema, a frequent condition in breast cancer surgery, and this particular condition is called Steward-Treves syndrome.They tend to occur in older women (mean age is about 65 years) and in the case of angiosarcoma secondary to radiotherapy treatment they have a latency period of 3 – 7 years.
Anyway, the distinction between primary and secondary angiosarcoma has not clinical relevance because no differences have been found regarding clinical behavior or prognosis of these two entities.
Due to the poor prognosis prompt diagnosis is essential, with a high growth rate, elevated rate of local recurrence and early development of metastases after treatment.