Sarcoma following irradiation for breast carcinoma

The Norwegian Radium Hospial during the period 1978-1984 admitted five patients with sarcoma in the treatment field after high voltage irradiation for carcinoma of the breast. These cases have been analyzed according to the criteria of Cahan for the diagnosis of postradiation sarcoma. Of all the tumors reported in irradiated human tissues, sarcoma has been the least common, and only 31 cases following X-ray therapy for breast cancer have been reported. It is suggested that the incidence is higher, because these tumors may be misdiagnosed as local recurrence of breast carcinoma if inadequate biopsy specimens are obtained