Stewart-Treves syndrome - case report and review of the literature

• Main Authors: Marta Koper (Author), Agnieszka B. Serwin (Author), Bożena Zdrodowska-Stefanow (Author), Iwona Flisiak (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Termedia Publishing House, 2014-09-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Introduction . Chronic lymphedema, mainly due to total mastectomy with axillary lymph nodes dissection for breast cancer, can induce development of rare and highly malignant cutaneous angiosarcoma. This condition is called Stewart-Treves syndrome (STS). There are only about 400 cases of STS reported in the literature. The long-term prognosis is poor; 5-year survival is up to 10%. Limb amputation appears to be the treatment of choice. Objective . To present a case of Stewart-Treves syndrome with a fatal outcome, which developed 12 years after mastectomy with lymphadenectomy. Case report . A 65-year-old woman was admitted to our department for confluent purpuric macules, hemorrhagic blisters, and violaceous-black nodules, involving the whole left arm and forearm, with chronic severe lymphedema of the extremity. She had a history of left-sided breast cancer 12 years previously, treated with mastectomy with excision of axillary lymph nodes; subsequently, the failure of lymph drainage and lymph stasis developed. Histopathological examination of the tumor was consistent with angiosarcoma. The patient was disqualified from a surgical procedure due to the late stage of malignancy and died approximately a month later. Conclusions . Given unsatisfactory treatment options, the prevention of long-lasting lymphedema is crucial to improve prognosis of patients with breast cancer.

Item Description

0033-2526
2084-9893
10.5114/dr.2014.45125