Postirradiation
sarcomas are an unusual but well-recognized late effect of
cancer therapy. In this article, a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) series of four cases is presented. There were three female patients and one male patient, with an age range of 28-55 yr (mean, 41). Two of the patients were irradiated for uterine cervical
carcinoma while the other two received irradiation for
malignant lymphoma. The time interval to the development of the postirradiation
sarcoma ranged from 10 to greater than 20 yr. There were a postirradiation
synovial sarcoma of the buttock region,
malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the bone (femur), and
rhabdomyosarcoma and
angiosarcoma of the retroperitoneum. A spectrum of cytologic findings was encountered, reflecting the specific types of
sarcomas. Immunocytochemical studies performed on the aspirated material from the
angiosarcoma demonstrated the utility of immunoperoxidase stains for
ULEX europaeus agglutinin-1 (UEA-1) and, to a lesser degree,
factor VIII-related antigen antibody, confirming the vascular nature of this
malignancy. The FNA findings from all four cases demonstrated cytologic features that allowed recognition of this unusual complication of irradiation treatment. This article confirms the utility of FNA cytology in following patients with previous
malignancies and differentiating a postirradiation
sarcoma from recurrent
carcinoma.