Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Pediatric primary intracranial angiosarcoma with epithelioid differentiation: a surgeon’s dilemma

  • Case Report
  • Published:
Child's Nervous System Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Angiosarcoma is a rare form of soft tissue sarcoma originating from endothelial tissue, accounting for < 1% of all sarcomas. Primary epithelioid angiosarcomas of the central nervous system (CNS) are even more elusive, with only four reports described in the literature. In this article, we describe the first case in pediatric population, with a brief literature review regarding this entity. A 13-year-old girl presented to emergency services with raised intracranial pressure. MRI demonstrated a heterogenous lesion in the temporal lobe. She underwent emergency craniotomy and subtotal excision of the tumor. Eventually the patient developed multiple infarcts and succumbed post operatively. Pre-operative diagnosis on radiology is difficult considering the rarity of this entity and heterogeneity in radiological appearance. One needs to have a high degree of suspicion to consider angiosarcoma as a radiological differential. Overall prognosis remains poor. Early adjuvant treatment may improve overall survival.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Scholsem M, Raket D, Flandroy P, Sciot R, Deprez M (2005) Primary temporal bone angiosarcoma: a case report. J Neurooncol 75(2):121–125

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Fuse T, Takagi T, Hirose M (1995) Primary intracranial epithelioid angiosarcoma—case report. Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo) 35(6):364–368

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Baldovini C, Martinoni M, Marucci G (2013) Epithelioid angiosarcoma of the septum pellucidum. Case Reports in Pathology 2013:1–3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Kuang R, Li S, Wang Y (2023) Primary cerebral epithelia angiosarcoma: a case report. BMC Neurol 23:49

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. La Corte E, Acerbi F, Schiariti M, Broggi M, Maderna E, Pollo B et al (2014) Primary central nervous system angiosarcoma: a case report and literature review. Neuropathology 35(2):184–191

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Gao M, Li P, Tan C, Liu J, Tie X, Pang C et al (2019) Primary central nervous system angiosarcoma. World Neurosurgery 132:41–46

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Hoshiai S, Masumoto T, Matsuda M, Sugii N, Sakamoto N, Minami M (2016) Radiation-induced angiosarcoma of the brain. BJR|Case Rep 2(2):20150374

  8. Balamurali G, du Plessis D, Wengoy M, Bryan N, Herwadkar A, Richardson P (2009) Thorotrast-induced primary cerebral angiosarcoma. Neurosurgery 65(1):E210–E211

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Bosetti C, La Vecchia C, Lipworth L, McLaughlin J (2003) Occupational exposure to vinyl chloride and cancer risk: a review of the epidemiologic literature. Eur J Cancer Prev 12(5):427–430

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Hart J, Mandavilli S (2011) Epithelioid angiosarcoma: a brief diagnostic review and differential diagnosis. Arch Pathol Lab Med 135(2):268–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Lee C, Shin Y, Choi J (2020) Primary brainstem angiosarcoma mimicking cavernous malformation. World Neurosurgery 139:232–237

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Kurian K, Tagkalakis P, Erridge S, Ironside J, Whittle I (2006) Primary intracranial angiosarcoma of the pineal gland: an unusual cause of recurrent intraventricular haemorrhage and superficial haemosiderosis. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 32(5):557–561

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Miettinen M, Fanburg-Smith J, Virolainen M, Shmookler B, Fetsch J (1999) Epithelioid sarcoma: an immunohistochemical analysis of 112 classical and variant cases and a discussion of the differential diagnosis. Hum Pathol 30(8):934–942

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Hackney J, Palmer C, Riley K, Cure J, Fathallah-Shaykh H, Nabors L (2012) Primary central nervous system angiosarcoma: two case reports. J Med Case Rep 6(1)

  15. Ray-Coquard I, Domont J, Tresch-Bruneel E, Bompas E, Cassier P, Mir O et al (2015) Paclitaxel given once per week with or without bevacizumab in patients with advanced angiosarcoma: a randomized phase II trial. J Clin Oncol 33(25):2797–2802

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Young R, Woll P (2017) Anti-angiogenic therapies for the treatment of angiosarcoma: a clinical update. Magazine of European Medical Oncology 10(4):190–193

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Gaballah A, Jensen C, Palmquist S, Pickhardt P, Duran A, Broering G et al (2017) Angiosarcoma: clinical and imaging features from head to toe. Br J Radiol 90(1075):20170039

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Ziegler JW (1975) Primary angiosarcoma of the brain: report of a case. J Am Osteopath Assoc 74(10):957–960

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Mena H, Garcia J (1978) Primary brain sarcomas. Light and electron microscopic features Cancer 42(3):1298–1307

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Mena H, Ribas J, Enzinger F, Parisi J (1991) Primary angiosarcoma of the central nervous system. J Neurosurg 75(1):73–76

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Kirk I, Dominguez R, Castillo M (1992) Congenital primary cerebral angiosarcoma: CT, US, and MR findings. Pediatr Radiol 22(2):134–135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Merimsky O, Lepechoux C, Terrier P, Vanel D, Delord J, LeCesne A (2000) Primary sarcomas of the central nervous system. Oncology 58(3):210–214

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Suzuki Y, Yoshida Y, Shirane R, Yoshimoto T, Watanabe M, Moriya T (2000) Congenital primary cerebral angiosarcoma. J Neurosurg 92(3):466–468

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Guode Z, Qi P, Hua G, Shangchen X, Hanbin W (2008) Primary cerebellopontine angle angiosarcoma. J Clin Neurosci 15(8):942–946

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Tejasvi Singh Randhawa and Mayur Gopichand Gharat wrote the manuscript draft. Debyajyoti Chatterjee and Chirag Ahuja prepared slides, radiology, figures. Ashish Aggarwal and Raghav Singla edited and finalised the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raghav Singla.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Randhawa, T.S., Aggarwal, A., Chatterjee, D. et al. Pediatric primary intracranial angiosarcoma with epithelioid differentiation: a surgeon’s dilemma. Childs Nerv Syst 40, 267–271 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-023-06114-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-023-06114-9

Keywords

Navigation