Localized angiosarcoma, not one disease: a retrospective single-center study on prognosis depending on the primary site and etiology

  • Background. Angiosarcomas are rare and heterogeneous tumors with poor prognosis. The clinical subtypes are classified depending on the primary site and etiology. Methods. We conducted a retrospective, monocentric study of 136 patients with localized AS between May 1985 and November 2018. Overall survival (OS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and metastasis-free survival (MFS) were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. To identify prognostic factors, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed based on Cox regressions. Results. The median age was 67 years (19–72.8 years). Primary sites were cutaneous (27.2%), breast (38.2%), and deep soft tissue (34.6%). The majority was primary angiosarcomas (55.9%) followed by postradiation (40.4%) and chronic lymphedema angiosarcomas (2.9%). Prognosis significantly differed depending on the primary site and etiology. Shortest median OS and MFS were observed in deep soft tissue angiosarcomas, whereas cutaneous angiosarcomas, angiosarcomas of the breast, and radiation-associated angiosarcomas displayed worse median LRFS. Univariate analyses showed better OS for tumor size <10 cm (p = 0.009), negative surgical margins ( = 0.021), and negative lymph node status (p = 0.007). LRFS and MFS were longer for tumor size <10 cm (p = 0.012 and p = 0.013). In multivariate analyses, age <70 years was the only independent positive prognostic factor for OS in all subgroups. For LRFS, secondary AS of the breast was a negative prognostic factor (HR: 2.35; p = 0.035). Conclusions. Different behaviors and prognoses depending on the primary site and etiology should be considered for the treatment of this heterogeneous disease. In cutaneous angiosarcomas of the head/neck and postradiation angiosarcomas of the breast, local recurrence seems to have a crucial impact on OS. Therefore, improved local therapies and local tumor staging may have to be implemented. However, in deep soft tissue angiosarcomas, distant recurrence seems to have a major influence on prognosis, which indicates a benefit of additional perioperative chemotherapy.

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Author:Inna Schott, Sven-Thorsten LiffersGND, Farhad FarzaliyevORCiDGND, Johanna FalkenhorstORCiDGND, Hans-Ulrich SteinauGND, Jürgen Walter TreckmannORCiDGND, Lars Erik PodleskaORCiDGND, Christoph PöttgenORCiDGND, Hans-Ulrich SchildhausORCiDGND, Marit AhrensORCiDGND, Uta DirksenORCiDGND, Fatma-Zehra MuratORCiD, Jens SivekeORCiDGND, Sebastian BauerORCiDGND, Rainer W. HamacherORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-792855
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9960085
ISSN:1369-1643
Pubmed Id:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34545273
Parent Title (English):Sarcoma
Publisher:Hindawi
Place of publication:London
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2021
Year of first Publication:2021
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2023/10/23
Volume:2021
Issue:9960085
Article Number:9960085
Page Number:10
HeBIS-PPN:515553891
Institutes:Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International