Treatment and Outcome of 82 Patients with Angiosarcoma
- 14 March 2007
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Annals of Surgical Oncology
- Vol. 14 (6), 1953-1967
- https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-006-9335-y
Abstract
Angiosarcomas are an uncommon type of malignancy that are generally thought to behave usually in a locally aggressive fashion; they often metastasize to distant sites. Patients with a diagnosis of angiosarcoma treated at our institution between 1980 and 2006 were analyzed for patient demographics, tumor characteristics, multimodality treatment, and outcomes. A total of 82 patients were divided into those with primary and advanced disease. Overall, the median age was 65 (range, 22–91) years, and 44% of patients were women. Median size of tumors was 3.8 cm, and 76% of tumors were intermediate or high grade. Tumors were located throughout the body: 32 cutaneous, 22 deep soft tissues or organs, 10 radiation or lymphedema field, 8 bone, and 7 nonirradiated breast. Of 46 patients with primary disease, all patients underwent surgical resection, 67% received radiotherapy, and 27% received chemotherapy. Five-year disease-specific survival was 60%, and negative prognostic factors included intermediate or high grade, and tumors arising in a radiated or lymphedema field. Of 36 patients with advanced disease, 36% underwent a palliative operation, 78% received radiation, and 58% received chemotherapy. Median survival was just 7.3 months, and cutaneous tumors predicted a better prognosis compared with other sites. Primary angiosarcomas treated with aggressive surgical resection and the addition of radiation for close margins or worrisome pathologic features can result in long-term survival in most patients. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy is unclear. Patients with advanced disease have a poor prognosis, but there can be dramatic responses to chemotherapy in a minority of patients.Keywords
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cancer Statistics, 2006CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 2006
- A 14-Year Retrospective Review of AngiosarcomaThe Cancer Journal, 2005
- Stewart–Treves syndrome—treatment and outcome in six patients from a single centreEuropean Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2004
- Stewart–Treves syndrome—treatment and outcome in six patients from a single centreEuropean Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2004
- Primary breast sarcoma: clinicopathologic series from the Mayo Clinic and review of the literatureBritish Journal of Cancer, 2004
- Splenic Angiosarcoma: A Clinicopathologic and Immunophenotypic Study of 28 CasesLaboratory Investigation, 2000
- Occupationally related angiosarcoma of the liver in the United Kingdom 1972-1994.Gut, 1996
- Lymphangiosarcoma associated with chronic filarial lymphedemaCancer, 1987
- Lymphangiosarcoma in Postmastectomy Lymphedema: A Report of Six Cases in Elephantiasis ChirurgicaCA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 1981
- Nonparametric Estimation from Incomplete ObservationsJournal of the American Statistical Association, 1958