SARCOMAS SUBSEQUENT TO CRANIAL IRRADIATION

THE DEVELOPMENT OF sarcoma subsequent to cranial irradiation is a rare but serious and potentially fatal event. We describe seven patients w ho had undergone cranial irradiation (range, 1600-6000 cGy) to treat t heir primary disease and who developed sarcomas within the irradiated field. The median time from radiation therapy to the development of a sarcoma was 8 years (range, 4 to 15 yr). Fibrosarcomas developed in fo ur patients, and malignant fibrous histiocytomas developed in three. D espite aggressive treatment, the prognosis was poor; the median surviv al from the diagnosis of sarcoma was 19 months. Sarcoma should be cons idered in the differential diagnosis of a new lesion or a lesion that progresses several years after radiation therapy.