angiosarcoma
Sign in to saveAngiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive cancer that starts in the endothelial cells that line the walls of blood vessels or lymphatic vessels. Since they are made from vascular lining, they can appear anywhere and at any age, but older people are more commonly affected, and the skin is the most affected area, with approximately 60% of cases being cutaneous (skin). Specifically, the scalp makes up ~50% of angiosarcoma cases, but this is still <0.1% of all head and neck tumors. Since angiosarcoma is an umbrella term for many types of tumor that vary greatly in origin and location, many symptoms ma
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Angiosarcoma
- Medical condition (new).image
- Metastatic angiosarcoma in the brain.jpg
- Medical condition (new).caption
- MRI of a cardiac angiosarcoma that has metastasised to the brain.
- Medical condition (new).field
- Oncology
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Often asymptomatic, non-specific symptoms common
- Medical condition (new).onset
- Typically 60-70 however all age groups are affected
- Medical condition (new).types
- Hemangiosarcoma, lymphangiosarcoma, parenchymal angiosarcoma
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Unknown
- Medical condition (new).risks
- Lymphedema, radiation therapy, various chemicals
- Medical condition (new).diagnosis
- Imaging, biopsy
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery
- Medical condition (new).prognosis
- Depends on type, overall five-year survival ~ 30-38%
- Medical condition (new).frequency
- 1 per million people (US)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Angiosarcoma (5617087462).jpg
Show 3 more facts
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C9275
- Commons category
- Angiosarcoma
- exact match
- identifiers.org/doid/DOID:0001816
Sources (6)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Article
17 sectionsContents
- Classification
- Primary cutaneous angiosarcoma
- Lymphedema associated angiosarcoma
- Parenchymal angiosarcoma
- Primary breast angiosarcoma
- Secondary breast angiosarcoma
- Primary brain angiosarcoma
- Primary cardiac angiosarcoma
- Primary liver angiosarcoma
- Deep soft tissue angiosarcoma
- Signs and symptoms
- Causes
- Diagnosis
- Epidemiology
- Other animals
- See also
- References
Angiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive cancer that starts in the endothelial cells that line the walls of blood vessels or lymphatic vessels. Since they are made from vascular lining, they can appear anywhere and at any age, but older people are more commonly affected, and the skin is the most affected area, with approximately 60% of cases being cutaneous (skin). Specifically, the scalp makes up ~50% of angiosarcoma cases, but this is still <0.1% of all head and neck tumors. Since angiosarcoma is an umbrella term for many types of tumor that vary greatly in origin and location, many symptoms may occur, from completely asymptomatic to non-specific symptoms like skin lesions, ulceration, shortness of breath and abdominal pain. Multiple-organ involvement at time of diagnosis is common and makes it difficult to ascertain origin and how to treat it.
The cause of angiosarcoma is not known, though several risk factors are known, such as chronic lymphedema, radiation therapy and various chemicals such as arsenic and vinyl chloride. Angiosarcomas have been reported in association with long standing foreign bodies. Infrequently they have occurred in association with breast implants. Ultraviolet radiation and localized immunodeficiency may play a role in the pathogenesis of angiosarcoma. Angiosarcoma can be seen on MRI, CT and ultrasound scans, but it is usually difficult to discern it from other cancers, requiring confirmation of diagnosis by biopsy and immunohistochemical analysis.