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Annals of Oncology Advance Access originally published online on January 29, 2009
Annals of Oncology 2009 20(4):780-787; doi:10.1093/annonc/mdn702
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

sarcomas

Clinical features and treatment outcomes of advanced stage primary hepatic angiosarcoma

H. R. Kim1, S. Y. Rha1,2, S. H. Cheon1,3, J. K. Roh1,2, Y. N. Park2,4 and N. C. Yoo1,2,*

1 Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei Cancer Center
2 Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine
3 East-West Neo Medical Center, Kyunghee University
4 Department of Pathology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

* Correspondence to: Dr N. C. Yoo, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 250 Seongsanno, Seodaemun-Ku, Seoul 120-752, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2228-8133; Fax: +82-2-393-3652; E-mail: ync0011{at}yuhs.ac

Background: Primary hepatic angiosarcoma is a very rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. While surgical resection has been validated as curative choice, most cases are diagnosed too late for resection. Nonetheless, treatment protocols have not been established and also there are very few reports on the clinical features and treatment outcomes.

Patients and methods: Among 11 939 patients diagnosed with primary hepatic tumors from January 1985 to December 2007 at two centers, five patients were diagnosed with primary hepatic angiosarcoma. We analyzed patients' demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment modality, and outcomes using imaging, serology, and pathology.

Results: All five patients were diagnosed at advanced stage with distant metastases. The most common symptom was abdominal pain. The levels of the tumor markers were within the normal range and serological tests were negative for hepatitis B and C viruses. Two of four patients who received chemotherapy died <3 months after diagnosis, but the other two patients survived >6 months.

Conclusions: A combination of chemotherapy resulted in an improved outcome for two of four patients, suggesting the potential usefulness of palliative chemotherapy to improve survival. This case study may aid in planning chemotherapy for patients with advanced hepatic angiosarcoma.

Key words: chemotherapy, primary hepatic angiosarcoma, treatment outcomes

Received for publication June 11, 2008. Revision received October 5, 2008. Accepted for publication October 6, 2008.


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