Radiation recall dermatitis occurring 6 years and 4 months after breast-conserving surgery: A case report

Currently in Japan, breast-conserving therapy, consisting of breast-conserving surgeryand post-operative radiation therapy, is performed frequently for the treatment of invasive breast cancer. It has been demonstrated that radiation therapy not only prevents recurrence in the preserved breast, but that it also contributes to improved patient survival. The present study describes the case of a 37-year-old woman with radiation recall dermatitis that occurred 6 years and 4 months after breast-conserving surgery. Erythemawith a relatively distinct border was observed at the irradiated site on the left breast; eczemawas diagnosed by a dermatologist. Inflammatory breast cancerwas ruled out, since chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasound and bone scintigraphywere negative. Following ~1 month of topical corticosteroid application and oral second generation antihistaminetreatment, the erythemawas alleviated and the subjective symptoms also disappeared. Only a few cases of radiation recall dermatitis have been described in the fields of radiology and dermatology, but not yet in the surgical field. In the future, the incidence of radiation recall dermatitis is predicted to increase due to the increasing number of patients undergoing breast-conserving therapy. Whether in the surgical, radiological or dermatological field, if erythemais detected at the irradiated site during post-operative follow-up, routine care should be provided, keeping in mind the possibility of radiation recall dermatitis and inflammatory breast cancer.