RADIATION-INDUCED SARCOMA OF THE SKULL - REPORT OF 2 CASES

The authors describe two cases of sarcomas of the skull following cran ial irradiation in patients treated for other neoplasms, acute lymphat ic leukemia, and astrocytoma, respectively. The patients (one man and one woman; mean age 24.5 years) developed sarcomas within the irradiat ed field after a mean latency period of 11.5 years. Histologically, th e tumor proved to be a fibrosarcoma. Despite aggressive surgery and ot her therapy, the survival of the patients was short (IO and 8 months, respectively). The pathological and clinical aspects of this unusual c omplication are analyzed with reference to 41 cases taken from the wor ld literature.