A case of malignant fibrous histiocytoma after breast conserving therapy for breast cancer

Radiation-induced undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of the breast

Breast sarcoma is a rare form of malignancy that arises from connective tissue within the breast, comprising less than 5% of all sarcomas. They develop as primary tumours or as secondary following radiation therapy. Diagnosis can be challenging as breast sarcomas are often asymptomatic and resemble benign breast tissue changes. Radiation-induced breast sarcomas present in various forms with an average latency period of 10-20 years following initial radiation therapy. Angiosarcomas are the most common form, while other types such as undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas remain rare. Here, we report a case of radiation-induced undifferentiated pleomorphic breast sarcoma in a 75-year-old woman that developed nearly 20 years following breast conserving surgery and radiation for invasive ductal carcinoma. The patient initially noticed a mass in 2017 on self-examination. The mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy at the time showed a benign 2.2 cm nodular fasciitis without malignancy. The mass grew rapidly in the next 6 months to 5.6 cm and repeat biopsy diagnosed undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. The mass abutted the pectoralis muscle but staging workup ruled out distant metastasis and the patient underwent wide local resection of the mass with clear margins. The patient subsequently underwent further postoperative radiation due to insufficient posterior margin width on wide local excision, as chest wall resection would have been required for a wider posterior margin. Prognosis for postradiation sarcomas is generally poor with 27%-36% 5-year survival, with surgical resection as the main line of treatment. The patient currently remains disease-free after 15 months of surveillance.

Two Cases of Secondary Sotf Tissue Sarcomas after Radiotherapy and Radiochemotherapy

Background

The development of secondary soft tissue sarcomas after chemo-radiotherapy is a rare and little known event, but its frequency is increasing.

Patients and Methods

We report two cases of secondary soft tissue sarcomas. The first is the case of a 51-year-old woman treated for Hodgkin's disease with chemotherapy and radiotherapy 15 years before she developed a high-grade malignant pleural sarcoma. The patient had no history of asbestos exposure. The second is the case of a 64-year-old woman with a giant cell malignant histiocytoma secondary to colorectal cancer treated with surgery and radiotherapy nine years before. The patients were not eligible for surgery or radiotherapy. Both were treated with chemotherapy (ifosfamide and epirubicin) without any relevant secondary effects; however, the response to therapy was poor.

Conclusions

The causes of secondary malignancies are multifactorial, but radiation therapy and chemotherapy are certainly implicated in the development of post-therapy neoplasms that are difficult to treat.

Radiation-induced sarcoma of the breast: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Radiation-induced sarcoma (RIS) is a rare, aggressive malignancy. Breast cancer survivors treated with radiotherapy constitute a large fraction of RIS patients. To evaluate evidenced-based practices for RIS treatment, we performed a systematic review of the published English-language literature.

METHODS

We performed a systematic keyword search of PubMed for original research articles pertaining to RIS of the breast. We classified and evaluated the articles based on hierarchical levels of scientific evidence.

RESULTS

We identified 124 original articles available for analysis, which included 1,831 patients. No randomized controlled trials involving RIS patients were found. We present the best available evidence for the etiology, comparative biology to primary sarcoma, prognostic factors, and treatment options for RIS of the breast.

CONCLUSION

Although the evidence to guide clinical practice is limited to single institutional cohort studies, registry studies, case-control studies, and case reports, we applied the available evidence to address clinically relevant questions related to best practice in patient management. Surgery with widely negative margins remains the primary treatment of RIS. Unfortunately, the role of adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy remains uncertain. This systematic review highlights the need for additional well-designed studies to inform the management of RIS.

Stromal sarcoma with features of giant cell malignant fibrous histiocytoma

We report a case of primary giant cell malignant fibrous histiocytoma (GCMFH) of the breast. A 56-year-old Japanese woman presented with a firm mass in the right breast. Mammography and ultrasonography revealed a well-circumscribed and lobulated mass in the upper outer quadrant of the right breast, indicative of a benign breast tumor or mucinous carcinoma. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a restricted breast tumor without intraductal spread. Computed tomography and bone scintigraphy found no sites of distant metastases. Fine needle aspiration biopsy showed several clusters of atypical cells associated with numerous multinucleated giant cells. Breast-conserving surgery with axillary lymph nodes dissection was performed. Histological examination showed primary GCMFH of the breast. No metastases were identified in any of the 15 left axillary lymph nodes resected and surgical margins were free from tumor cells. The tumor was negative for both estrogen and progesterone receptor. Neither adjuvant chemoendocrine therapy nor postoperative radiotherapy was given, and the patient has remained disease free for 30 months postoperatively. To our knowledge, only 30 cases of primary MFH of the breast have been reported in the literature.

Giant cell malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the breast: a case report

A case of primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the breast is reported. The patient was a 48-yr-old woman with a huge tumor involving almost the entire left breast. The central portion of her left breast was already rotted by extensive necrosis and inflammation. She was treated by radical mastectomy and axillary lymphadenectomy to level I. Pathologic examination supported by an immunohistochemical staining confirmed the tumor as malignant fibrous histiocytoma of giant cell type. Axillary lymph nodes were free from tumor metastasis. She had not taken any postoperative adjuvant therapy. The metastasis to lungs was found 2 months after the operation, and she died within 6 months.