Oncology · Surgery ·
Treatment patterns and outcomes in breast radiation-associated angiosarcoma
A retrospective study at one cancer center examined 135 patients with breast or chest-wall radiation-associated angiosarcoma treated from 2011 to 2025. Surgery and chemotherapy were common; recurrence was frequent, while selected treatment features were associated with longer survival or recurrence-free survival.
- Single-center retrospective cohort included 135 patients.
- Median overall survival was 7.1 years.
- Nearly half of surgical patients developed recurrence.
- Treatment associations do not establish causal benefit.
Radiation-associated angiosarcoma (RAAS) is a rare malignancy arising after breast cancer radiotherapy. This retrospective, single-center study included 135 patients treated for breast or chest-wall RAAS from 2011 to 2025. All had previously undergone breast cancer surgery and radiotherapy. Median age at RAAS diagnosis was 68 years, and median latency from radiotherapy was 7.5 years. Skin changes were the most common presentation (90%).
Multimodal treatment with chemotherapy and surgery was used in 69%. Of 125 patients who underwent surgery, 75 (60%) had total mastectomy and 35 (28%) had mastectomy or completion mastectomy with extended resection of irradiated skin. Among 78 patients given neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 56% had a complete or near-complete pathologic response, defined as less than 10% residual viable tumor. Median overall survival was 7.1 years; 5-year overall survival was 60%. Among surgical patients, 57 (46%) developed recurrence, 70% of which were local.
Surgical resection was associated with longer overall survival, while chemotherapy, strong pathologic response, and extended skin resection were associated with longer recurrence-free survival. These retrospective associations do not establish that treatment caused better outcomes; the single-center cohort and rare disease context also limit generalizability. Only five patients received re-irradiation.
In practice
For patients with radiation-associated angiosarcoma of the breast or chest wall, this single-center retrospective cohort describes frequent recurrence and associations between treatment features and outcomes. Surgical resection was associated with longer overall survival; chemotherapy, extended skin resection, and a strong pathologic response were associated with longer recurrence-free survival. These findings may inform discussion of management approaches in this rare disease, but they do not demonstrate that any treatment caused improved outcomes. The study does not establish a standard regimen, and its results may not generalize beyond the center.
AI-generated clinical interpretation · Not editor-reviewed
Is this summary clinically accurate?
Help fellow clinicians: your rating sends inaccurate summaries straight to our editors.
Sign in to rate this summary →Source
World Journal of Surgery: Radiation‐Associated Angiosarcoma Among Breast Cancer Survivors: Clinicopathologic Features and Oncologic Outcomes ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.