Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of Medicine. Case Rep Gastrointest Med. 2015;2015:326795. [PMID: 26167310 PMCID: PMC4488146 DOI: 10.1155/2015/326795]

Efficacy and Safety of Interferon-Alpha 2b for Patients with Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Outcomes of a Case-Series Analysis

Background

Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEH) is a rare tumor type. No effective medicine or standard treatment for HEH has been established.

Patients and Methods

From March 2014 to April 2021, 62 patients with pathologically diagnosed HEH were observed regularly, and interferon-alpha 2b (IFN-a 2b) was administered to patients with progressive disease or reoccurrence. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed and recorded, and a tumor assessment scan was performed every 3 months.

Results

A total of 42 patients with HEH received IFN-a 2b treatment in this study. No severe (grade ≥3) AEs were reported in the group overall. The most common treatment-related AEs in patients receiving IFN-a 2b were fever (50.0%) and fatigue (21.4%). Partial response and complete response were achieved in 20 patients (47.6%) and 2 patients (4.8%), respectively, and the objective response rate was 52.4%. Stable disease was observed in 12 patients (28.6%), and the disease control rate was 81.0%. Progressive disease was observed in 8 patients (19.0%). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year progression-free survival rates were 81.0%, 69.2%, and 62.3%, respectively. Only 1 patient died as a result of disease progression during the study. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 100%, 97.2%, and 97.2%, respectively.

Conclusion

IFN-a 2b is a safe and effective treatment for patients with HEH. The encouraging results with IFN-a 2b use make it a promising option for patients who have other types of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma; additional clinical trials are needed.

Metastatic Hepatic Epitheloid Hemangioendothelioma in a Young Male: A Rare Presentation

Hepatic EHE (epithelioid hemangioendothelioma) is an uncommon entity of vascular origin and a low-grade malignant tumor. Primary hepatic EHE is rare. These tumors can be multifocal at presentation like in the soft tissues, bones, brain, liver, and small intestine. First described by Weiss and Enzinger in 1982 as a malignant vascular neoplasm with indolent behavior. We report the case of a 23-year-old male, known case of chronic liver disease, who presented with incisional hernia following exploratory laparotomy 8 months back, performed for intestinal obstruction. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography abdomen revealed an incisional hernia with a large defect along with multiple lesions in the liver (suspected metastases) and peritoneal deposits and a few discrete lung nodules. Some areas of interloop collections were also noted. Biopsies were taken from the liver which revealed benign cirrhotic lesion. Relevant to the findings, multiple biopsies were performed and fluid was sent for evaluation. The liver biopsy came out positive for borderline vascular malignancy (epithelioid hemangioendothelioma). This was confirmed with the immunohistochemistry report. Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma occurs mostly in soft tissues of extremity and lungs. The involvement of the liver may be seen as metastasis or rarely as a primary tumor. The incidence of primary malignant hepatic hemangioendothelioma is about 0.1/100,000; the mean age at the time of diagnosis is 41.7 years, and male:female ratio is 2:3. Liver transplantation, hepatectomy, chemoembolization, radiotherapy, and chemotherapeutic agents are reported treatment regimens. Malignant EHE of liver presents as multiple hepatic nodules. Being locally aggressive, it can invade the peritoneum, gut, and lungs. Orthoptic liver transplantation appears to be the only remedy because of the multifocal nature of the disease. Partial hepatectomy is possible for localized tumors.

Fast-growing epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the liver: A case report

RATIONALE

Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEH) is a rare vascular tumor of the liver with malignant potential. It can be of solitary type, multifocal type, or diffuse type. Although there are some characteristic features on radiologic imaging, the definitive diagnosis of HEH is based on histopathology. The surgical treatment of HEH includes liver resection and transplant.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A middle-aged woman presented with easy fatiguability and anorexia for 1 month was found to have multifocal lesions on radiological imaging.

DIAGNOSIS

HEH was diagnosed by needle biopsy. It can be seen from imaging that this case is a multifocal form. The largest lesion increased from 3 to 3.3 cm within 2 months, with an increase of 9.45%; no other relevant literatures have been reported.

INTERVENTIONS

The possibility of liver transplantation was suggested to the patient. However, the patient refused transplantation and was successfully treated by radical right hepatectomy and resection of the left lobe lesion.

OUTCOMES

She remained disease-free throughout a year follow-up period.

CONCLUSION

HEH is a rare disease with characteristic radiological and pathological features. Although liver transplantation is the preferred treatment for multifocal HEH, surgical excision represents one alternative when the lesions can be guaranteed to be completely excised.

Hepatic Hemangioendothelioma: An update

Primary epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas of the liver (EHL) are rare tumors with a low incidence. The molecular background of EHL is still under investigation, with WWTR1-CAMPTA1 mutation may function as a tumor marker. Commonly, this tumor is misdiagnosed with angiosarcoma, cholangiocarcinomas, metastatic carcinoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma (sclerosing variant). Characteristic features on imaging modalities such as ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography/computed tomography guide in diagnosis and staging. The "halo sign" and the "lollipop sign" on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are described in the literature. Currently, there are no standardized guidelines for treating EHL with treatment options are broad including: chemotherapy, ablation, surgery and liver transplantation with inconsistent results.

Metastatic Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma Treated with Olaratumab: A Falling Star Rising?

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare vascular malignant tumor with indolent course. Liver transplantation for local disease is the treatment of choice. In the metastatic setting there is no consensus regarding the appropriate systemic treatment. We present two cases of metastatic hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (hEHE) treated with the combination of Doxorubicin and Olaratumab. Both patients showed Stable Disease (SD) as a response, after the completion of six cycles of this combination therapy.

Malignant hepatic vascular tumors in adults: Characteristics, diagnostic difficulties and current management

Malignant vascular tumors of the liver include rare primary hepatic mesenchymal tumors developed in the background of a normal liver parenchyma. Most of them are detected incidentally by the increased use of performing imaging techniques. Their diagnosis is challenging, involving clinical and imaging criteria, with final confirmation by histology and immunohistochemistry. Surgery represents the mainstay of treatment. Liver transplantation (LT) has improved substantially the prognosis of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE), with 5-year patient survival rates of up to 81%, based on the European Liver Intestine Transplantation Association-European Liver Transplant Registry study. Unfortunately, the results of surgery and LT are dismal in cases of hepatic angiosarcoma (HAS). Due to the disappointing results of very short survival periods of approximately 6-7 mo after LT, because of tumor recurrence and rapid progression of the disease, HAS is considered an absolute contraindication to LT. Recurrences after surgical resection are high in cases of HEHE and invariably present in cases of HAS. The discovery of reliable prognostic markers and the elaboration of prognostic scores following LT are needed to provide the best therapeutic choice for each patient. Studies on a few patients have demonstrated the stabilization of the disease in a proportion of patients with hepatic vascular tumors using novel targeted antiangiogenic agents, cytokines or immunotherapy. These new approaches, alone or in combination with other therapeutic modalities, such as surgery and classical chemotherapy, need further investigation to assess their role in prolonging patient survival. Personalized therapeutic algorithms according to the histopathological features, behavior, molecular biology and genetics of the tumors should be elaborated in the near future for the management of patients diagnosed with primary malignant vascular tumors of the liver.

Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular tumor, composed of epithelioid and histiocytoid vascular endothelial cells in myxoid or fibrotic stroma, which can arise in multiple locations throughout the body. In the liver, this neoplasm usually presents on imaging as an incidental finding of multifocal, heterogeneously enhancing nodules in both lobes or presents clinically with nonspecific abdominal symptoms. Histologically, the tumor has been mistaken for metastatic carcinoma, angiosarcoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and cholangiocarcinoma. The neoplasm usually stains positive for vascular markers, such as factor VIII-related antigen, CD31, and CD34, and negative for cytokeratins. The translocation t(1;3)(p36.3;q25), resulting in the CAMTA1- WWTR1 fusion product, is the most commonly identified genetic abnormality with this tumor. Although hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma can have a varied clinical course, it is generally considered less aggressive than angiosarcoma. There is no consensus treatment protocol and techniques including liver transplantation, liver resection, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, and surveillance have all been used with varying outcomes.

Vascular tumours of the liver: a particular story

Vascular tumours of the liver represent an underrated chapter of medical and surgical hepatology. These tumours cover a wide spectrum ranging from the frequent and most benign hepatic haemangioma (HH), via the rare and intermediately aggressive hepatic epithelioid haemangioendothelioma (HEHE) to the rare and most malignant hepatic haemangiosarcoma (HHS). In contrast to the treatment algorithms for hepatocellular and cholangiocellular cancer, the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to HEHE and HHS are not well developed. The related uncertainty is explained by their rare occurrence and their protean clinical, morphological (imaging) and histopathological presentation and behaviour. This article gives an update about these particular tumours based on the analysis of the recent literature and of the studies on vascular tumours published by the European Liver Intestine Transplantation Association (ELITA)-European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR). It focuses also on the place of liver transplantation (LT) in the respective therapeutic algorithms. The differential diagnosis between these vascular and other tumour types may be very difficult. Correct diagnosis is of utmost importance and is based on a high index of clinical suspicion and on the integration of clinical, radiological, histological [including immunohistochemistry (IHC) and molecular biology findings]. Surgery, be it partial or total hepatectomy (LT), should be proposed whenever possible, because it is the therapeutic mainstay. In HEHE, LT provides excellent results, with long-term disease-free survivals (DFS) reaching 75%. Good results can be obtained even in case of (frequent) extrahepatic spread. Based on the extensive ELITA-ELTR study a HEHE-LT prognostic score has been proposed in order to estimate the risk of recurrence after LT. In contrast, results of surgery and LT are extremely poor for HHS, for the almost invariably rapid recurrence (within 6 months) and related death within 2 years. LT remains a contraindication for HHS. Due to the still important recurrence rate after surgical resection (25% in HEHE and almost 100% in HHS), there is an urgent need to develop pharmacological treatments targeting angiogenic and non-VEGF angiogenic pathways. To date, some prospective pilot studies and case reports have shown some short-term stabilisation of the disease in small groups of patients. In order to make progress, combination of surgery, anti-angiogenic and immunotherapy seems worthwhile. To complete the panel of vascular liver tumours, infantile haemangioendothelioma, haemangiopericytoma, nodular regenerative hyperplasia (NRH) and hepatic small vessel neoplasms (HSVN) are also discussed.

Composite hemangioendothelioma of the forehead and right eye; a case report

Background

Hemangioendothelioma includes several types of vascular neoplasms, as well as both benign and malignant growth.

Case presentation

This study evaluated a case of a 78-year-old female diagnosed with composite hemangioendothelioma (CHE). This patient had an 18-month history of painless inflammatory lesions and erythema on the left forehead and right upper eyelid. The clinical and pathologic characteristics of the CHE were evaluated in the present study.

Conclusion

The evidence of the coexistence of variable components of the CHE in our study emphasized the importance of distinctive morphology and biology, and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of other vascular lesions.