Postradiation malignant fibrous histiocytoma and osteosarcoma of a patient with high telomerase activities.

BACKGROUND

An extremely rare case of postradiation malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) and osteosarcoma (OS) secondary to radiation therapy for leukemia-related osteolytic lesions is presented. In addition, the telomere biology of these tumors was investigated.

CASE REPORT: A 14-year-old boy was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. The right tibia was irradiated at a total dose of 60 Gy, and the left tibia was irradiated at a total dose of 40 Gy. The left tibia developed MFH and the right tibia developed OS.

RESULTS

Telomere reduction (MFH 70.2, OS 70.0%) and high telomerase activities (MFH 12.1, OS 17.7 TPG) were observed. These results reflect an aggressive feature of postradiation sarcomas.

CONCLUSION

Prognosis for patients diagnosed with postradiation sarcoma is poor due to its aggressiveness. However, even if sarcoma occurs after irradiation in more than two fields in a single patient, improvements in prognosis are anticipated with appropriate chemotherapies and wide resection.