title: Adrenal angiosarcoma: report of a case.
abstract: Adrenal epithelioid angiosarcoma is an extremely rare tumor. Even if such tumors are very aggressive, a long survival may occasionally be observed after an adrenal ectomy. A 70-year-old woman suffering from persistent right flank pain showed a 5-cm right adrenal mass plus a 2-cm liver mass at the radiologic workup, and both were suspected of being malignant. No adrenal hypersecretion was demonstrated. During an explorative median laparotomy the right adrenal gland with the whole periadrenal tissue and locoregional lymph nodes was removed. A histological examination revealed an adrenal angiosarcoma. The resection margin was tumor-free with no lymph node infiltration. The liver mass turned out to be a cistobiliary adenoma. Since no distant metastases were observed, no adjuvant chemotherapy was performed. After an 18-month follow-up the patient is still well with no sign of a relapse. When this rare adrenal tumor is encountered and curative treatment is attempted initially extensive surgical procedures are essential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: Enricomaria
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pasqual
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bertolissi
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Carlo Alberto
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Beltrami
authors.forename: Cathrine Anne
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bacchetti
authors.forename: Beata Ursula
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Waclaw
authors.forename: Pier Paolo
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Cagol
mesh_terms: D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006394:Hemangiosarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans