Angiosarcoma of the small intestine after radiation therapy: report of a case

Abstract

A case of angiosarcoma of the small intestine is reported. The patient had a past history of cervical cancer, for which she had received radiotherapy eight years previously. She presented with an acute abdomen, and a distal jejunal perforation was found during emergency surgery. The patient expired due to reperforation of the bowel with peritonitis two months after discharge. The pathology of the resected bowel segment showed evidence of previous radiotherapy and infiltration by angiosarcoma involving all layers of the bowel, which had perforated. Submucosal fibrosis and angioectasia indicative of radiation therapy were also evident. The findings suggest that angiosarcoma of the small intestine may occur at sites of previous radiation therapy and may be causally related.