title: Primary pleural epithelioid angiosarcoma. A case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Malignant vascular tumors are uncommon sarcomas that arise from endothelial cells of small blood vessels and may affect every organ. Pleural localization is very exceptional, and only 48 cases have been reported in the English literature to date. Even if etiological factors implicated in the development of vascular sarcomas are still unclear, the strongest association with the disease was a history of chronic tuberculous pyothorax, observed only in Japanese patients, while prior radiotherapy and occupational exposure to asbestos have been reported in few Western cases. The mean age at diagnosis was 58 years, and the male to female ratio was 6:1. The overall prognosis was poor, and most of the patients died of disease soon after diagnosis. Histological features and clinical presentation often cause several problems in the differential diagnosis, particularly with mesothelioma and metastasis from poorly differentiated carcinomas. Immunohistochemistry plays an important role in identifying these rare entities, confirming the endothelial origin of the neoplasm with the expression of at least one of the vascular markers CD31, CD34, or factor VIII-related antigen. We report herein a further case of a 62-year-old man who presented with progressive dyspnea and bilateral massive hemothorax. The overall pathological and immunohistochemical features of the pleural specimens supported the diagnosis of epithelioid angiosarcoma.
authors.affiliation: Surgical Pathology Division, Department of Laboratory, A. Manzoni Hospital, Via dell'Eremo 9/11, 23900 Lecco, Italy. lele_dainese@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dainese
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pozzi
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milani
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pezzotta
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vertemati
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tricomi
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sessa
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006394:Hemangiosarcoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor