Barrenetxea G, Schneider J, Tánago J G, Pérez C, Centeno M M, Rodríguez-Escudero F J
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital de Cruces (Ginecología), Universidad del Pais Vasco, Baracalado, Bilbao, Spain.
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1995 May;60(1):87-9. doi: 10.1016/0028-2243(95)80002-6.
A case of angiosarcoma of the breast managed primarily by a chemotherapeutic approach is referred. A 29-year-old patient presented complaining of a painful mass in her right breast. An incisional biopsy carried out under general anesthesia showed a moderately-differentiated angiosarcoma surrounded by fibrofatty tissue. Ruled out distant metastases, a decision was made to initiate neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of ifosfamide, vincristine and dactinimycin. After 2 courses of chemotherapy the tumor volume was reduced by 50% and the histologic examination of the mastectomy specimen revealed a well-differentiated angiosarcoma with widespread areas of necrosis probably produced by previous chemotherapic treatment. The patient is clinically free of disease after 24 months of follow-up. Although this is a single case report, and by no means can be considered a guideline for future treatments, we nevertheless feel that the result obtained with the chemotherapeutic approach with this patient is encouraging.