Angiosarcoma of the breast

L. M. Rainwater, J. K. Martin Jr, T. A. Gaffey and J. A. van Heerden

The clinical histories, operative reports, and pathologic slides of 20 patients seen between 1907 and 1984 with diagnoses of angiosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, and hemangioendothelioma were reviewed. The mean age of the 19 female patients and one male patient was 40.05 years (range, 16 to 67 years). Ten patients had the right breast involved, and five patients had contralateral breast involvement. Presenting symptoms included a mass in 20 patients, pain in ten patients, and breast discoloration in six patients. Before referral, ten patients had the misdiagnosis of a benign breast lesion. Because of the deceptively benign appearance of many angiosarcomas, these lethal tumors are often misdiagnosed as benign hemangiomas. Simple mastectomy is the treatment of choice, while adjuvant therapy remains to be evaluated.