[Cutaneous angiosarcoma of the breast following surgery and irradiation of breast adenocarcinoma].

We are reporting a localised skin angiosarcoma of the breast. As far as we can tell this is only the fourth time this condition has been published. The tumour appeared 6 years after a conservative lumpectomy with removal of lymphatics and follow-up radiotherapy had been carried out for an adenocarcinoma of the breast. This tumour was characterised by the presence of several round blue-coloured nodules in the skin with some inflammation surrounding them. The glandular tissue underneath was normal, as was the opposite breast, and there was no spread. The patient was pyrexial and a syndrome of inflammation persisted until the tumour had been removed by a simple mastectomy. We have discussed the clinical and histological aspects of this case and compared them with those found in the literature. Differential diagnosis with in particular Stewart-Treves syndrome has been emphasized. The treatment consists in wide excision and sometimes followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy. The prognosis is very poor, survival never having been more than 22 months. Finally the role of irradiation in the causation of this tumour has been discussed. (Our patient is alive after 2 years without any sign of a recurrence).