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Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open

October 14, 2026 · via Europe PMC

Biopsy of Secondary Angiosarcoma Arising in Native Mastectomy Skin of a Reconstructed Breast Without Prior Radiotherapy.

Kamegai M, Iwanaga Y, Tomita S, Fujii M, Goto K, Hishima T, Ogawa R, Terao Y.

Case ReportsOpen access

AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only

A rare angiosarcoma developed in native mastectomy skin without prior radiotherapy, underscoring early biopsy of persistent skin changes.

What was studied

Case report with comparison to published cases of a 45-year-old woman with angiosarcoma after tissue expander and delayed DIEP flap reconstruction.

Key findings

  • Purpura and violaceous nodules appeared 3 years after the initial breast cancer surgery
  • Tumor cells were positive for ERG and CD34, with MYC expression in 60%-70%
  • She received pazopanib and radiotherapy (70 Gy), then trastuzumab plus paclitaxel for local progression; no distant metastasis at last follow-up but local control was difficult

Clinical relevance

Persistent dermatitis-like lesions in post-mastectomy skin warrant early biopsy even without prior radiation.

Who should care

Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

Limitations

Single case, with limited follow-up information and no conclusions about optimal treatment.

Maintain suspicion and biopsy early.

This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.

Abstract

Secondary breast angiosarcoma usually develops after radiotherapy or in the setting of chronic lymphedema. We report a rare case of non-radiation-associated secondary cutaneous angiosarcoma arising in the native mastectomy skin overlying a reconstructed breast after immediate tissue expander placement and delayed deep inferior epigastric perforator flap reconstruction for breast cancer. The patient's clinical course, imaging, histopathological findings, and treatment were retrospectively reviewed. The clinicopathological features were compared with previously reported cases of angiosarcoma arising after breast reconstruction without radiotherapy before angiosarcoma onset. A 45-year-old woman underwent right mastectomy, axillary dissection, and immediate tissue expander placement for right breast cancer (T2N1M0, stage IIB), followed by delayed deep inferior epigastric perforator flap reconstruction 1 year later. No adjuvant radiotherapy was administered. Three years after the initial breast cancer surgery, progressive purpura and dark violaceous nodules developed in the native mastectomy skin. Skin biopsy confirmed cutaneous angiosarcoma. Histology showed atypical endothelial proliferation forming irregular vascular channels; tumor cells were positive for ETS-related gene and cluster of differentiation 34; the molecular immunology borstel-1 index was approximately 40%; and MYC proto-oncogene expression was observed in 60%-70% of tumor cells. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography showed no distant metastasis. Because the cutaneous disease was diffuse and surgical local control was judged difficult, multimodal treatment with pazopanib and radiotherapy (70 Gy) was initiated, followed by trastuzumab plus paclitaxel for local progression. No distant metastasis was present at the latest follow-up, although local control remained challenging. Persistent or progressive dermatitis-like lesions in postmastectomy breast skin should prompt early biopsy even in patients without prior radiotherapy.

DOI

10.1097/gox.0000000000008171

PMID

42872284

Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.

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