Abstract

Secondary Angiosarcoma (Stewart‐Treves Syndrome) is a rare malignant cutaneous lesion, which arises in chronic lymphedema of the extremity, often observed after breast cancer treatment. We reviewed the history and the oncological outcome of two patients with this disease. Multimodal therapy including hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion with TNF‐alpha and Melphalan, combined with radical resection of the affected skin and subcutaneous tissue including the fascia, with large safety margins may probably lead to better survival.

Main findings

• SA is a severe diagnosis with high morbidity and high mortality. Multimodal therapy including hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion with TNF‐alpha and Melphalan, combined with radical resection of the affected skin, subcutaneous tissue including the fascia, with large safety margins may lead to better local control and thus possibly less metastatic disease.
• Extensive use of lymphatic supermicrosurgery for the treatment of chronic lymphedema, such as vascularised lymph node transfer, lymphovenous anastomosis or combined microvascular breast reconstruction with lymph node transfer can probably further decrease the incidence of SA.