title: Primary angiosarcomas of the chest wall and pleura.
abstract: Primary angiosarcomas of the chest wall and pleura are extremely rare and carry a dismal prognosis. Two cases are reported. One patient (case 1), presented with massive recurrent haemothorax, was found to have multifocal angiosarcoma of the pleura, treated with surgical de-bulking, chemical pleurodesis and chemotherapy, achieving control of the bleeding. She died 10 months later from complications related to chemotherapy. A full post-mortem examination confirmed this was a primary pleural angiosarcoma with no evidence of disease elsewhere. Another patient (case 2) with a large solitary angiosarcoma of the chest wall, discovered incidentally on a routine physical examination, was successfully treated with surgical excision and subsequent radical radiotherapy, remaining well 15 years post-operatively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, City Hospital, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alexiou
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Clelland
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006394:Hemangiosarcoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D013899:Thoracic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology