Epithelioid Angiosarcoma of Bone: A Neoplasm with Potential Pitfalls in Diagnosis

Jie Xu, Ruo-Fan Ma, Deng Li, Liang-Ping Li, Zhi-Qing Cai, Wen-Wu Dong, Yan Chen, Yue Ding

Department of Orthopaedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou , China.
Department of Orthopaedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou , China..

DOI: 10.4236/ojo.2012.23016                

Abstract

Angiosarcoma of bone is an exceedingly rare primary bone malignancy that can present as an aggressive osteolytic lesion. This subset can radiologically mimic non-vascular neoplasms and impose serious challenges in reaching the correct diagnosis. Meanwhile histological diagnosis can be extremely challenging too, as the pathological features often resemble that of aneurysmal bone cysts. We present an unusual case of a 22-year-old woman who presented with a rapidly growing humeral tumor of 8 months’ duration. The case of intraosseous angiosarcoma presented as a diagnostic dilemma and the relevant radiological and pathologic findings were discussed. We describe the clinical, radiological and pathological features of this unique case, and review the literature concerning Angiosarcoma of bone. Our case highlights the diagnostic difficulties for such very rare tumours and clinico-pathological correlation is of paramount importance to differential diagnosis.

Keywords

Angiosarcoma; Bone Neoplasms; Vascular Tissue Neoplasms; Aneurysmal Bone Cysts; Pitfall

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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