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

Case Report: Successful surgical management of a challenging primary cardiac angiosarcoma

Primary cardiac tumors are exceptionally rare, with malignant tumor occurrences ranging from 0.0017% to 0.28%. Among these, primary cardiac angiosarcoma (PCA) stands as the most prevalent malignancy, primarily impacting the right cardiac system. In this case report, we present the instance of a 44-year-old woman who recently exhibited acute chest discomfort and was subsequently diagnosed with a microangiosarcoma within the right atrium and superior vena cava. Diagnostic modalities including chest x-rays, CT, MRI, and PET-CT were instrumental in pinpointing the tumor's location and nature. Surgical excision followed by pathological and immunological examinations confirmed the diagnosis. The patient's recovery post-surgery has been encouraging, with successful follow-up chemoradiotherapy administered. Despite advancements, devising optimal strategies for enhancing patient survival and quality of life in angiosarcoma cases remains a pressing research challenge.

Evaluation of prognostic factors and treatment options for renal angiosarcoma: A retrospective analysis of 113 reported cases

BACKGROUND

Primary renal angiosarcoma (PRA) is an extremely rare and aggressive neoplasm. Indeed, due to its rarity, established clinical guidelines for PRA have not yet been established. In this study, we attempted to investigate its prognostic factors and treatment options.

METHODS

We systematically searched for articles describing PRA that had been published up until December 2021. The final cohort included 113 patients in 103 articles. The starting point of this study was the time of diagnosis and the end point was the time of recurrence and disease-specific mortality.

RESULTS

Metastasis at diagnosis was associated with poorer disease-specific survival (DSS) (p = 0.001). Tumors of more than 5 cm had poorer DSS than tumors of 5 cm or less (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that primary metastatic status, and tumor size were independent prognostic factors. In cases of localized PRA, tumor sizes exceeding 5 cm had also prognostic significance for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and DSS. Surgical margins, postoperative radiation, and postoperative systemic therapy were not associated with prognoses. However, in a subgroup analysis of tumors exceeding 5 cm, postoperative radiation therapy improved RFS and DSS (p = 0.022 and p = 0.031, respectively). In cases of metastatic PRA, systemic therapy improved DSS (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

We identified several prognostic factors for PRA. Among them, primary metastatic status and tumor size exceeding 5 cm were selected as independent prognostic factors. Postoperative radiation therapy for large, localized PRA and systemic therapy for recurrent and metastatic PRA might be a treatment option.

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.

Primary cardiac angiosarcoma: a case report

Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is relatively rare, and most cases involve metastasis at the time of diagnosis. The median survival time is 14 months for patients who can be treated surgically, versus 3.8 ± 2.5 months for patients with metastasis who could not undergo surgery. Radical surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy are the main treatments, but prognosis remains poor because of rapid progression and high recurrence and metastasis rates. At present, there is no unified standard treatment, and selecting the correct treatment plan and improving patient survival and quality of life remain challenging. We have reported the case of a 45-year-old woman with a primary heart tumor that infiltrated the right atrial wall and pericardium. Angiosarcoma was verified histologically. After palliative resection of the primary tumor followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy and targeted therapy, the patient exhibited overall survival of 23 months, highlighting the potential utility of this treatment strategy.

CT Findings of Primary Renal Angiosarcoma

Primary angiosarcomas of the kidney are very rare but highly aggressive tumors showing poor prognosis. We present a case of primary renal angiosarcoma occurring in a 60-year-old man with left flank pain. CT images depicted a huge exophytic mass (14 cm in diameter) in the left kidney, exhibiting central extensive hemorrhage or necrosis without contrast enhancement. The mass showed centripetal peripheral nodular enhancement on dynamic contrast-enhanced CT images. We suggest its inclusion in the differential diagnosis of cases of hemorrhagic renal tumors with prominent vasculature.