Angiosarcoma associated with a Kasabach-Merritt syndrome: report of two cases treated with paclitaxel

Recurrent metastatic angiosarcoma presenting as Kasabach-Merritt syndrome

Angiosarcoma is an incredibly rare type of malignancy, accounting for only 1%-2% of all soft-tissue sarcomas globally. It is clinically, pathologically and radiologically difficult to diagnose angiosarcoma owing to its varied presentation with little or no well-defined imaging findings.Kasabach-Merritt syndrome is also a lesser-heard entity which carries extremely poor prognosis. It is primarily seen in infants with vascular malformations and in kaposiform haemangioendothelioma. It is a condition of consumptive coagulopathy and only few of the cases have been reported so far in the adults with a background of angiosarcoma.This report presents the case of a male in his 70s who was diagnosed with metastatic angiosarcoma and experienced a complicated disease course due to Kasabach-Merritt syndrome.

Cutaneous angiosarcoma: a current update

Cutaneous angiosarcoma (cAS) is a rare malignant neoplasm with variable clinical presentation. Although a distinct vascular tumour, cAS shares many overlapping histopathological features with other vasoformative and epithelioid tumours or 'mimickers'. cAS shows aggressive behaviour and carries a grave prognosis, thus early diagnosis is of paramount importance to achieve the best possible outcomes. Recently, several genetic studies were conducted leading to the identification of novel molecular targets in the treatment of cAS. Herein, we present a comprehensive review of cAS with discussion of its clinical, histopathological and molecular aspects, the differential diagnosis, as well as current therapies including ongoing clinical trials.

Metastatic Angiosarcoma with Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome Responsive to Gemcitabine and Vinorelbine after Failure of Liposomal Doxorubicin and Paclitaxel: A Case Report

Kasabach-Merritt syndrome (KMS) describes a consumptive coagulopathy associated with certain vascular tumors. It is thought that platelets are destroyed as they circulate through the aberrant endothelial surfaces associated with these tumors. Most published literature describes infants with kaposiform hemangioendothelioma, but a similar syndrome can complicate angiosarcoma in adults. This report describes a man with metastatic angiosarcoma arising in the scalp in whom disease progression was complicated by profound thrombocytopenia consistent with KMS. His disease and associated KMS had progressed previously through paclitaxel and then through liposomal doxorubicin. It did not respond to paclitaxel and bevacizumab, but responded almost completely to chemotherapy with gemcitabine and vinorelbine. Six months later, progression through ongoing chemotherapy then responded to chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and sirolimus.