Angiosarcoma of kidney

Primary vascular tumours of the kidney

Primary vascular tumours of the kidney are rare and may pose diagnostic difficulties because of their similar clinical, morphological, and immunohistochemical features. This article summarizes the clinical and pathological features of primary renal angiosarcoma and anastomosing haemangioma of the kidney including epidemiology, genetics, and prognosis. Renal anastomosing haemangiomas are benign neoplasms characterized by anastomosing capillary-sized vascular channels. These tumours are rare, with about 75 cases reported in the literature. Most anastomosing haemangiomas are found incidentally on ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, haematuria, and abdominal mass. Renal anastomosing haemangiomas are characterized by recurrent mutations in GNAQ and GNA14 genes. The prognosis of anastomosing haemangioma is excellent. Primary renal angiosarcomas are malignant tumours showing endothelial differentiation. To date, 76 cases have been described in the literature. Primary renal angiosarcomas are frequently symptomatic. The clinical features of renal angiosarcomas are similar to those of renal anastomosing haemangiomas, including abdominal pain, haematuria, and abdominal mass. Angiogenesis-related genes and vascular-specific receptor tyrosine kinases such as KDR, TIE1, SNRK, TEK, and FLT1 are upregulated in angiosarcomas. Primary renal angiosarcomas are highly aggressive neoplasms with a poor prognosis despite surgical treatment, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted therapy.

Behavioural effects of the common brain-infecting parasite Pseudoloma neurophilia in laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Research conducted on model organisms may be biased due to undetected pathogen infections. Recently, screening studies discovered high prevalence of the microsporidium Pseudoloma neurophilia in zebrafish (Danio rerio) facilities. This spore-forming unicellular parasite aggregates in brain regions associated with motor function and anxiety, and despite its high occurrence little is known about how sub-clinical infection affects behaviour. Here, we assessed how P. neurophilia infection alters the zebrafish´s response to four commonly used neurobehavioral tests, namely: mirror biting, open field, light/dark preference and social preference, used to quantify aggression, exploration, anxiety, and sociability. Although sociability and aggression remained unaltered, infected hosts exhibited reduced activity, elevated rates of freezing behaviour, and sex-specific effects on exploration. These results indicate that caution is warranted in the interpretation of zebrafish behaviour, particularly since in most cases infection status is unknown. This highlights the importance of comprehensive monitoring procedures to detect sub-clinical infections in laboratory animals.

Primary Angiosarcoma of the Kidney: Case Report and Comprehensive Literature Review

Purpose

Angiosarcoma (AS) is an aggressive malignant tumour of endothelial origin, most frequently compelling the skin. The kidney is a rare site of primary occurrence of AS with a quite challenging diagnosis and poor prognosis, mainly due to its raw metastasising power. We described our first case of AS treatment. A comprehensive literature review in this field is also carried out.

Patients and methods

We report the case of a 56-years-old man with radiological appearance of an 11 cm poor vascularised left renal mass. The pre-operative imaging ruled out distant metastases and inferior vena cava thrombosis. Thus, after radioembolization, we performed a transperitoneal open radical nephrectomy with regional lymphadenectomy with the removal of the middle portion of the ileo-psoas muscle, followed by two lines of adjuvant chemotherapy. We analysed all the papers concerning primary kidney AS until December 2018.

Results

Estimated intraoperative blood loss was 200 mL with an operative time of 100 minutes. No postoperative complications were recorded, with the patient discharge in the 8th postoperative day. The pathological assessment showed a pT3a N0, M0 tumour compatible with AS of the kidney. An immune-histochemical study showed a vascular positive for CD31, CD34, Fli-1 with a Ki-67/Mib 1 of 50%. One month after surgery the patient began adjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine. After 45 days from surgery, a Computed Tomography scan showed lung and liver metastases with disease relapse in the left kidney lodge. The response to the first-line treatment was excellent, unlike the second-line, encountering a chemo-refractory disease. The cancer-specific survival was of 15 months. We included 66 cases in our review.

Conclusion

This is the first case of treatment of kidney AS performed at our Institute. Our findings added new information about the unclear biology and progression of this subset of tumours, demonstrating an abysmal prognosis.

Epithelioid angiosarcoma arising in schwannoma of the kidney: report of the first case and review of the literature

Background

Schwannoma and angiosarcoma are infrequent pathologies that have been rarely reported in the kidney. Angiosarcoma is an uncommon malignant tumor presenting a recognizable vascular differentiation. It can develop in any site but the most common locations include the skin, soft tissues, breast, bone, liver, and spleen while renal localization has been very rarely reported in the literature. Schwannoma is a benign peripheral nerve sheath tumor composed of cells with the immunophenotype and ultrastructural features of differentiated Schwann cells. It has a wide anatomical distribution but the most frequent locations include subcutaneous tissues of the extremities and the head and neck region and the retroperitoneal and mediastinal soft tissues. The occurrence of an angiosarcoma in a pre-existing schwannoma is an extremely rare event with <20 cases reported in worldwide literature. In the present study, a renal case of angiosarcoma arising in schwannoma is presented with a detailed review of the pertinent literature.

Case Presentation

A 56-year-old man was admitted with a few days history of lower back pain and hematuria. Abdominal ultrasound showed a mass inside the left renal medulla. Subsequent imaging investigations with computed tomography and magnetic resonance confirmed the presence of the lesion and showed a pulmonary metastasis.

Conclusions

The final histopathological examination led to the diagnosis of epithelioid angiosarcoma arising in a schwannoma. The patient came to death a few months later due to a massive hemothorax. To the best of our knowledge, the present is the first case of an angiosarcoma arising in a schwannoma of the kidney.

Clinicopathological features of primary angiosarcoma of the kidney: a review of 62 cases

Angiosarcoma (AS) is a malignant tumor occurring in less than 2% of soft tissue sarcomas. Primary involvement of the kidney is rare, its pathogenesis remains largely unknown and it has overlapping features with other tumors of the kidney. The objective of this paper is to review the case reports of primary AS of the kidney in the literature. The search terms were primary AS of the kidney, primary renal AS and primary renal hemangiosarcoma. The total cohort of the cases reviewed was 62. The mean age of presentation was 61 years old with a predilection for the male sex. Metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis accounted for 44.9% (22/49) of the cases reported and 44.4% (12/27) of patients with non-metastatic disease at diagnosis, subsequently developed metastasis. Primary AS of the kidney is a rare malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. Local recurrence and distant metastasis is common. Primary AS of the kidney shares similar clinical presentation with other renal tumors and imaging does not allow for tumor specific diagnosis. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry is very important for the confirmation of the diagnosis. Current treatment options include a variable combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Anastomosing hemangioma of the genitourinary tract: a lesion mimicking angiosarcoma

BACKGROUND

We describe 6 cases of a poorly recognized vascular neoplasm that can simulate angiosarcoma.

DESIGN

Cases of a rare vascular tumor with a proclivity for the genitourinary tract encountered in our consultation material were prospectively collected between the year 1999 and 2008. Follow-up information was obtained when possible.

RESULTS

There were 6 tumors from 4 men (66%) and 2 women, ranging in age from 49 to 75 years (median, 59.5) involving the kidney and renal hilum (4, 66%) and testis (2). Tumors ranged from 1.3 to 1.7 cm (median, 1.6 cm) and were grossly well-marginated with a hemorrhagic mahogany spongy appearance. Microscopically, at low power they had a loosely lobulated architecture and were associated with a medium-caliber vessel (5/6, 83%). Most kidney (3/4, 75%) tumors showed minor extensions into adjacent adipose tissue. At higher magnification, the tumors consisted of anastomosing sinusoidal capillary-sized vessels with scattered hobnail endothelial cells within a framework of nonendothelial supporting cells. There was a minimal inflammatory backdrop consisting of lymphocytes but not plasma cells or acute inflammation. Mitoses were absent (5/6, 83%) or rare (1 case; in supporting cells). There was mild cytologic atypia in one of the cases but no multilayering of endothelial cells in any case. Vascular thrombi were typical (5/6, 83%) and the lesions had zones of central sclerosis with focal necrosis (5/6, 83%). Two (33%) tumors featured prominent extra-medullary hematopoiesis and 2 tumors (33%) had striking hyaline globules reminiscent of those seen in Kaposi's sarcoma. Immunohistochemistry was available on some cases and the lesions stained with CD34, CD31, and FVIII but not human herpes virus type 8, keratin AE1/3, epithelial membrane antigen, HMB45, placental alkaline phosphatase, or human chorionic gonadotropin. In all but one submitted consultation, the possibility of angiosarcoma had been raised based on the anastomosing vascular pattern. On follow-up, there were no recurrences or metastases in 5 cases (range: 8 to 36 mo; median 12 mo, mean 15 mo), and 1 patient was lost to follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Anastomosing hemangioma of the genitourinary tract is a rare neoplasm displaying some overlapping features of both sinusoidal hemangioma and hobnail hemangioma of soft tissue and skin. However, in our opinion, it is a unique neoplasm with a proclivity for the kidney. Its anastomosing appearance can lead to concern for angiosarcoma but, despite small numbers and limited follow-up in our series, evidence to date supports that the lesion is benign.

Angiosarcoma of the kidney with minute clear cell carcinomas: a case report

A case of renal angiosarcoma with minute clear cell carcinomas in a 61-year-old male is described. The tumor was clinically considered a renal cell carcinoma. The lesion, removed by nephrectomy, was an unencapsulated hemorrhagic mass measuring 8.0cm in diameter. The tumor was histologically characterized by anastomosing vascular channels lined by cytologically atypical endothelial cells. The tumor cells reacted positively with CD31, factor-VIII related antigen, and CD34. A few minute clear cell carcinomas measuring less than 1mm were observed in the periphery of the angiosarcoma. There was no transition between angiosarcoma and renal cell carcinoma. The patient died of a widespread disease 13 months after surgery. This tumor is considered a primary renal angiosarcoma with clear cell carcinomas and not a sarcomatoid carcinoma.

Metastatic angiosarcoma of the kidney: a case report with treatment approach and review of the literature

Angiosarcomas are rare soft tissue malignancies. Typically they originate from the skin of the scalp or face, whereas visceral sarcomas are very rare. We report the case of a 67-year-old man affected by a large angiosarcoma of the kidney. After surgical removal, a rapid peritoneal, visceral and cutaneous diffusion developed. Palliative chemotherapy, based on anthracycline and ifosfamide, which are normally used to treat all other high-grade spindle cell sarcomas, was totally inactive. On the basis of these results and of the biological characteristics of these rare neoplasms it is mandatory to develop other therapeutic approaches. Antiangiogenetic agents are of interest for this disease due to the peculiar origin of the cells of these sarcomas.

Early diagnosis and straight forward surgery of an asymptomatic primary angiosarcoma of the kidney led to long-term survival

We report the first case of a diagnosis of an asymptomatic primary renal angiosarcoma. The patient underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy and is alive after long-term follow up. We provide the preoperative imaging studies and the histologic features of this exceedingly rare tumor.

Primary renal angiosarcoma: A rare malignancy. A case report and review of the literature☆

Angiosarcoma is a rare malignant tumor occurring in less than 2% of soft tissue sarcomas. Angiosarcoma involving the kidney usually represents metastasis from skin or visceral primary lesions, while angiosarcoma primarily occurring in the kidney is a very rare neoplasm. In the English literature, from 1942 to the present, only 19 cases of primary kidney angiosarcoma have been reported. A case of primary renal angiosarcoma presenting as a large kidney mass and flank pain occurring after traumatism is reported. The present case represents further evidence of a rare malignancy.

Primary renal angiosarcoma: a case report and review of the literature

Primary renal angiosarcoma is very rare. To our knowledge, only 15 cases have been reported to date. A 77-year-old Japanese man with a unilateral kidney presented with massive hematuria followed by renal failure. A renal tumor was suspected and a left nephrectomy was performed. The histopathological diagnosis was angiosarcoma of the kidney. A hemorrhagic tumor measuring 10 x 5 cm and clotted blood was found in the medullary area. The atypical tumor cells had a sinusoidal and solid appearance, and showed immunohistochemically positive reactions for some of the endothelial markers. The patient died about 21 months after the nephrectomy and the autopsy revealed massive metastases to the liver and retroperitoneum. One of the differential diagnoses of the case was angiomyolipoma, because the tumor cells were relatively bland in their histological appearance with entrapped fat cells in the pelvic area. Fifteen case reports with titles that included the term 'hemangiosarcoma/angiosarcoma', 'hemangioendothelioma/endothelioma' or 'vascular sarcoma' of the kidney were reviewed and compared to the present case.

Renal angiosarcoma: a case report

We report the first case of angiosarcoma in the kidney occurring in a woman; the tumor was initially believed to be renal cell carcinoma. This malignant tumor was discovered in a patient with macrohematuria. The final diagnosis was confirmed by histologic and immunohistochemical findings. A review of the literature on this tumor is also included in the discussion.

Primary renal angiosarcoma. Case report and review of the literature

Primary angiosarcoma is one of the rarest kidney tumors. Only six satisfactorily documented cases have been reported in the literature. A new case is described. The tumour is usually in an advanced clinical stage when detected, and generally first presents with local pain and no urinary symptoms.

Primary renal sarcoma in adults. A natural history and management study by the American Cancer Society, Illinois Division

BACKGROUND

Primary renal sarcomas in adults are rare and unusual neoplasms. This study was performed to better define the natural history and current management of these sarcomas in a typical medical setting in the United States.

METHODS

The hospital records of 4018 adult patients with renal neoplasms treated in the state of Illinois from 1975 to 1985 were examined by American Cancer Society professional volunteers.

RESULTS

A primary renal sarcoma occurred in 34 patients (0.8% incidence). Eleven adult patients had Wilms tumor, 21 had primary renal sarcoma (47% leiomyosarcoma), and 2 were not found to have sarcoma on review. The median age of the patients with Wilms tumor was 30 years, whereas that of the patients with non-Wilms sarcoma was 65 years. Four of the patients with Wilms tumor (36%) are long-term survivors and all received adjuvant chemotherapy after radical nephrectomy. Six of the patients with non-Wilms sarcoma (29%) are long-term survivors after radical nephrectomy alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary renal sarcomas, when treated with radical nephrectomy and, in the case of Wilms tumor, adjuvant chemotherapy, appear to be curable in 29-36% of cases. Histologic review of patients younger than 40 years of age with renal neoplasia is recommended.

Sarcomatoid renal carcinoma with angiosarcomatoid component. Light microscopic and immunohistochemical study

We describe a case of primary renal pelvic carcinoma which showed an unusual histologic pattern of anastomosing blood-filled channels lined by atypical cells. This angiosarcomatoid pattern merged with solid areas typical of renal carcinoma. Immunoperoxidase stains for cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen were positive in both the angiosarcomatoid and typical carcinomatous areas, while stains for factor VIII-related antigen and desmin were negative. Since primary renal angiosarcomas are rare neoplasms, the diagnosis of sarcomatoid renal carcinoma should be considered in primary renal neoplasms which show this angiosarcomatoid pattern.

Primary angiosarcoma of the seminal vesicle

We report on an unusual case of primary angiosarcoma of the seminal vesicle. Diagnosis was confirmed by light and electron microscopy, as well as specific immunohistochemical staining. This rare tumor is highly aggressive, and refractory to traditional surgical and adjuvant therapeutic modalities. Sarcomatous lesions of the seminal vesicle are reviewed.

Primary sarcomas of the kidney. A clinicopathologic and DNA flow cytometric study of 17 cases

Primary sarcomas of the kidney in adults are rare. In the handful of published reports of all soft tissue sarcomas, DNA ploidy has correlated with histologic grade and outcome. This report presents the clinicopathologic and flow cytometric features of 17 cases of primary renal sarcoma (seven men and ten women, ages 28-69 years). Presenting symptoms included abdominal and back pain and hematuria. Stages at diagnosis were I, in three patients; II, five patients; III, two patients; and IV, two patients. Eight tumors were leiomyosarcoma, two malignant fibrous histiocytoma, one hemangiopericytoma, one fibrosarcoma, and five unclassified. Tumors measured 5.5 to 23 cm, seven contained marked nuclear pleomorphism, seven were extensively necrotic, and mitotic rate was 1 to 33 per 10 high-power fields. Seven tumors showed aneuploidy and five were diploid. Thirteen patients were dead of disease after a mean of 23 months and two were alive with known metastases at 29 and 33 months, respectively. Ploidy pattern and outcome or time to death were not correlated, but aneuploidy correlated with histologic grade, marked nuclear pleomorphism (P less than 0.05), extensive necrosis (p less than 0.01), and high mitotic rate (0.05 less than P less than 0.10). The authors conclude that although DNA ploidy does correlate with histologic grade, for primary renal sarcomas, whose prognosis in this series was extremely poor, it does not correlate with outcome.

Primary renal angiosarcoma mimicking a renal cell carcinoma

Primary renal angiosarcoma is a very rare malignant tumor that closely mimics the more common renal cell adenocarcinoma (hypernephroma) in radiologic appearance. Both tumors are hypervascular masses and the diagnosis must be confirmed histologically. However, in the presence of a tumor with a capsular blood supply, and in the absence of venous invasion, the diagnosis of renal angiosarcoma may be suggested, especially in a patient with a new onset of consumption coagulopathy.