title: Benign and malignant vascular tumors of the liver in adults.
abstract: Vascular tumors of the liver in adult patients include cavernous hemangioma, a common benign tumor; epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, a rare, usually low-grade malignant tumor; and angiosarcoma, a rare and very aggressive tumor. All these primary mesenchymal tumors develop on a normal liver and may also affect other organs. Their pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Hepatic tumors are increasingly detected incidentally due to widespread use of modern abdominal imaging techniques. Therefore, reliable noninvasive characterization and differentiation of such liver tumors is of major importance for clinical practice. Hemangioma follows a benign course, and a nonoperative approach for the majority of these lesions is recommended. A definitive diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and angiosarcoma requires histopathologic examination. Liver transplantation at an early stage has greatly improved the prognosis of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. The prognosis of angiosarcoma remains dismal. Designing a worldwide database that contains all data about patients with these rare diseases is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hôpital Pellegrin, CHU Bordeaux, France. paulette.bioulac-sage@chu-bordeaux.fr
authors.forename: Paulette
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bioulac-Sage
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Laumonier
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Laurent
authors.forename: Jean Frédéric
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Blanc
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Balabaud
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018323:Hemangioendothelioma, Epithelioid / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006392:Hemangioma, Cavernous / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006394:Hemangiosarcoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D055166:Hepatic Stellate Cells / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D009383:Neoplasms, Vascular Tissue / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome