Orbital hemangiopericytoma--a case report

Metastatic intraocular hemangiopericytoma in a dog

A 10-year-old Labrador Retriever who had been undergoing therapy for a recurrent hemangiopericytoma of the right flank presented to the Kansas State University Ophthalmology service for evaluation of a painful left eye. Examination revealed secondary glaucoma and irreversible blindness of the affected eye and multifocal chorioretinal lesions in the fellow eye. Therapeutic and diagnostic enucleation of the left eye was performed and histopathologic examination demonstrated the presence of a presumed metastatic spindle cell sarcoma. Further immunohistochemical staining confirmed the intraocular neoplasia to be metastatic spread from the previously removed flank mass. Rapid progression in size and number of chorioretinal lesions in the right eye was noted in the post-operative period until the patient was euthanized one month after surgery. This case report is the first to document intraocular metastasis of hemangiopericytoma in a veterinary patient.

Orbital hemangiopericytoma in an Asian population

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Hemangiopericytoma is a very rare orbital tumor. The purpose of this study was to report the clinical and histopathological features of six cases of orbital hemangiopericytoma in an Asian population.

METHODS

Clinical and histopathological features were reviewed in six patients who were histopathologically confirmed as having primary orbital hemangiopericytoma in National Taiwan University Hospital between May 2001 and December 2010.

RESULTS

Among the six cases who were diagnosed as having primary orbital hemangiopericytoma, all lesions were reported as vascular tumors and featured branching "staghorn appearance" vessels. All patients, including one male and five females, presented with progressive proptosis and some associated symptoms such as extraocular motility limitation with diplopia, displacement of the globe, afferent pupillary defect, congested vessels of conjunctiva, or decreased visual acuity. On computed tomography, the orbital tumors tended to manifest as circumscribed masses with homogeneous medium-to-high enhancement with contrast studies. All six patients received surgical treatments, and four of them had additional radiotherapy. Three patients had recurrence after surgeries, and one of them had multiple metastases to lung and liver. All patients were still alive after a follow-up period of 5-10 years.

CONCLUSION

Orbital hemangiopericytoma has malignant potential, which may lead to local recurrence and/or metastasis. Histopathological findings alone are insufficient to predict the behavior of this tumor. Therefore, both clinical and histopathological findings are important to evaluate the treatment outcomes. Total excision accompanied with radiotherapy is suggested and long-term follow-up is required.