Angiosarcoma of the breast

Abstract

An instance of angiosarcoma of the breast i s presented. A combination of operation, ionizing radiation, and chemotherapy is employed. Discussion and a collective review of the literature are included. The authors emphasize the value of early detection and radical treatment. NGIOSARCOMA,ll* l3 HEMANGIOBLASTOMA,15A metastasizing hemangioma,a and dered in the clinician when a history is elicited should be recognized that early detection ofof persistent and enlarging "bruise" over the fers the best chance of improving the progbreast in the absence of known trauma, and it nosis of these cases.

The treatment of angiosarcoma of the breast

“…Most authors currently recommend simple mastectomy. Because of the virulence of the tumor and extremely high propensity for local recurrence [3,4], this correspondent feels an intermediate procedure may be in order. Total mastectomy with at least partial resection of the pectoral muscles would appear logical in that local recurrence is the rule and invasion of pectoral fascia is not uncommon in these deep-seated lesions.…”

“…cytoxan, and thiotepa [4]; vincristine, methotrexate, and prednisone [2]; vin-Many chemotherapy combinations have been attempted including five-FU, Attempts at radiotherapy have similarly been found to be palliative in certain instances but not effective in altering the course of the disease. However, the recent advances in treatment of other soft tissue sarcomas with adjuvant radiation and/or chemotherapy warrant continued trials with angiosarcoma of the breast.…”

“…The average survival varies from 1.6 to 2.6 years [ 111. It occurs usually at an early age in comparison to carcinoma of the breast, with a majority presenting in the second and third decade [4,11]. There is a slight predilection for involvement of the right breast.…”

“…A summarization of the world literature revealed 68 previously recorded cases [ l ,4,5,8, l l , 121. Of these 68 patients only 7 have survived greater than 5 years [3,4,6,8,9,11]. Moreover, half of these long-term survivors developed a recurrence leading to either additional surgery or death [3,4,61.…”

Haemangiosarcoma of breast

“…Several names have been applied to this tumourbenign metastasizing haemangioma, angiosarcoma, haemangioendothelioma, haemangiosarcoma (Steingaszner et al, 1965). In all, 42 haemangiosarcomas have been reported since 1907 (Gulesserian and Lawton, 1969).…”