Near Total Excision in Patients with Angiosarcoma on Scalp

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Angiosarcoma is a rare malignant neoplasm of endothelial type cells that line vessel walls. It tends to occur in aged male and the prognosis of angiosarcoma is very poor because of frequent local recurrence and early metastasis. The treatment regimen is yet to be established from its rare occurrence but the wide excision in early stage is known to be the most effective. The authors report two cases of near totally excised angiosarcoma with more than a safety margin of 5cm. METHODS: The two subjects were aged male patients, one of the two was diagnosed with angiosarcoma from our institution confirmed by the biopsy. The other one went through the wide excision with a safety margin of 2cm and split-thickness skin graft but local recurrence was observed. The two patients underwent near total excision with more than a safety margin of 5cm, leaving only the periosteum. After confirming that the angiosarcoma had not infiltrated the excision margin, reconstruction with split-thickness skin graft was performed. RESULTS: Based on 6 months and 24 months post-surgery assessment, no local recurrence or remote metastasis in the lungs, liver, bones, and lymph nodes at the neck, where remote metastasis is common, was reported by the two subjects who underwent near total excision with a safety margin of 5cm. CONCLUSION: Angiosarcoma has very poor prognosis from its frequent recurrence and metastasis. To enhance the survival rate of angiosarcoma patients, early diagnosis, timely surgical treatment, and radiotherapy after surgery are critical. In addition, authors suggest that it is necessary to further study the efficacy of wide excision using a wider safety margin as much as possible, and to apply this to more cases.