Hepatic Angiosarcoma: A Multi-institutional, International Experience with 44 Cases.

BACKGROUND

Hepatic angiosarcoma is a rare primary liver tumor. The aim of this current study was to evaluate the presentation and treatment outcomes in a modern cohort.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, multi-institutional, observational study of patients with histopathologic diagnoses of primary hepatic angiosarcoma from four institutions. Clinicopathologic characteristics, treatments, and patient outcomes were examined.

RESULTS

Forty-four patients with hepatic angiosarcoma were identified. Patients were predominantly Caucasian and presented at a median age of 63.7 years; 81.4% of patients had bilobar disease and 37.2% had metastatic disease at the time of presentation. Only 10 patients underwent surgical resection. Median overall survival for the entire cohort was 5.8 months (interquartile range 1.9-16.4), and 1-, 3-, and 5-year actual survival was 30.0%, 8.1%, and 5.6%, respectively. There were only two 5-year survivors, both of whom presented with localized disease and underwent curative resection.

CONCLUSION

The prognosis for hepatic angiosarcoma remains quite poor. Surgical resection for localized disease results in the best outcomes. Unfortunately, current imaging modalities are often non- diagnostic, and most patients are unresectable at the time of presentation.