Vol.101 No.4 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 101 No. 4 April 2008
Rapidly Progressive Angiosarcoma of
the Neck: A Case Report
Buichirou Shin, Hideki Chijiwa, Takao Mihoki,
Kyujirou Gondou and Tadashi Nakashima
(Kurume University School of Medicine)
We encountered a case of rapidly growing angiosarcoma of the left neck. The patient was a 55-year-old male who consulted our clinic complaining of a left infraauricular mass with subcutaneous bleeding. Neck MRI demonstrated a large mass (49×37×23 mm) with outapparent tumor capsule. The lesion was diagnosed as carcinoma of the left parotid gland. Based on the findings of fine needle aspiration biopsy, we performed surgical removal and postoperative diagnosis demonstrated angiosarcoma. However, there was a rapid regrowth of the tumor and the patient developed peritonitis due to metastasis to the liver and lung. He died of respiratory failure. As angiosarcoma is a severe disease with a poor prognosis, difinitive diagnosis followed by a multimodal regimen is required for adequate treatment.
Key words :angiosarcoma of the neck, diagnosis, surgery, multimodal regimen