title: Primary angiosarcoma of the breast.
abstract: We report a case of a 44-year-old woman with primary angiosarcoma of the left breast. An excisional biopsy was performed initially and the mass was interpreted as angiosarcoma. The pre-operative staging provided no evidence of metastasis. The patient then underwent a left mastectomy with the placement of an expandable prosthesis. For 3 months the prosthesis was progressively expanded to the desired size and it was then replaced with a permanent one. Primary angiosarcoma of the breast is a rare and often misdiagnosed disease. Treatment options are numerous and conflicting. The diagnostic approach and treatment options from the literature are presented and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, University General Hospital of Herakleion, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Christodoulakis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gontikakis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giannikaki
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gaki
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsiftsis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006394:Hemangiosarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans