Angiosarcoma in Postmastectomy Lymphedema (Stewart-Treves Syndrome)

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The SYNDROME characterized by the appearance of cutaneous lymphangiosarcoma in the ipsilateral arm, years after radical mastectomy for carcinoma, has been described by Stewart and Treves.1We had occasion to see a patient with this until recently unknown disorder. REPORT OF A CASE A. N., a 54-year-old, white, single woman, a patient of Dr. H. Wadro, had a radical mastectomy in 1942 for carcinoma of the left breast, with axillary node involvement, followed by extensive x-ray treatment and, several months later, by radium therapy to the axilla. Edema of the left arm developed shortly after the operation but regressed to about 50% in recent years. It was most conspicuous above the left elbow, where the arm measured 11½ in. (29 cm.) as compared with 8 in. (20.3 cm.) above the right elbow. In April, 1949, the patient noticed bluish, firm, raised nodules on the inner aspect of

Alerts clinicians to angiosarcoma risk in chronic postmastectomy lymphedema; leaves open optimal surveillance strategies.