Unresolved, atraumatic breast hematoma: Post-irradiation or secondary breast angiosarcoma

Article type: Case Report

Authors: Hanna, Glenn^a | Lin, Samuel J.^b | Wertheimer, Michael D.^a | Sharma, Ranjna^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA | [b] Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Ranjna Sharma, M.D., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Breast Care Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Shapiro 5, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Tel.: +1 617 667 8807; Fax: +1 617 667 9711; E-mail: rsharma1@bidmc.harvard.edu

Abstract: Post-irradiation or secondary angiosarcoma of the breast was first described in the 1980s in patients treated with breast conserving therapy for cancer. The primary management of radiation-induced breast angiosarcoma has focused on surgical resection with an emphasis on achieving negative tumor margins. While surgery remains a key component of treatment, novel therapeutic approaches have surfaced. Despite such advances in treatment, prognosis remains poor.

Keywords: Breast cancer, breast conservation therapy, secondary angiosarcoma

DOI: 10.3233/BD-2012-0331

Journal: Breast Disease, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 139-142, 2012