Intra-abdominal "angiosarcomatosis" report of two cases after pelvic irradiation
Article Abstract:
Angiosarcomas, also called hemangiosarcomas, are cancers that arise from the endothelial cells and fibroblast cells which normally make up the inside of blood vessels. These cancers are not common, and only between one and two percent of all sarcomas affecting soft tissues are angiosarcomas. Furthermore, the majority of angiosarcomas arise in the skin of the face and scalp and the underlying subcutaneous tissue. Two cases were recently seen, however, in which patients developed angiosarcomas within the abdominal cavity. The two female patients, aged 69 and 80, had suspected bowel obstruction (blockage) and underwent exploratory surgery. Surgical examination of the abdominal cavity revealed the presence of widely dispersed masses of cancer which proved to be angiosarcoma upon microscopic examination. Both patients died of complications while in the hospital. Both patients had previously undergone radiation therapy for gynecologic cancer, one 20 years previously and the other 7 years previously. Although it can not be demonstrated with certainty that the patients' angiosarcomas were caused by the exposure to radiation, there is precedent in the medical literature for the relationship between angiosarcoma and radiation. Most cases of angiosarcoma following radiotherapy involve the skin. There have, however, been previous reports of angiosarcomas arising in the abdomen years after radiotherapy, and it is suspected that in these cases, as well as in the two recent cases, this rare cancer most likely resulted from the use of radiation to treat a previous cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Cancer
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0008-543X
Year: 1991
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Cystic pulmonary metastatic sarcoma
Article Abstract:
It is very unusual for tumors growing in the lungs to form cavities. Consequently, there is a risk of failing to properly identify cystic tumors in the chest. This problem is illustrated by two case histories of patients with cystic metastatic sarcoma in the lungs. The cancers could not be identified by chest X-ray. The lesions could be seen on computed tomography (CT) of the chest, but they had the appearance of benign bullous disease, which involves the formation of large vesicles or bullae. Upon removal of the cysts, the lack of any solid cancerous tissue for examination, and the variability of the tissue comprising the cyst wall, made histopathological analysis difficult. The definitive diagnosis was made on the basis of specific immunochemical staining of the tumors, which were identified as a smooth muscle tumor, or leiomyosarcoma, in one patient and a sarcoma of the synovium in the other. It is clear that thin-walled bullae, which appear benign on CT scan, must be considered potentially malignant and removed surgically when appropriate. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Cancer
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0008-543X
Year: 1990
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