Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Angiosarcoma

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

  • 37 Accesses

Synonyms

Hemangiosarcoma; Malignant hemangioendothelioma

Definition

Angiosarcoma (AS) is a primitive malignant sarcomatous neoplasm of the thyroid with vascular differentiation (Wick et al. 2017).

Clinical Features

  • Incidence

    It is an exceedingly rare tumor; the reported ratio of 2.3% of all malignant neoplasms (Maiorana et al. 1996) is likely to be overrated. Originally reported in patients living in Alpine areas in Switzerland and Italy, where the nodular goiter was endemic, it has been described also in seaside countries, in Eastern countries, and in the USA (Chan et al. 1986; Eusebi et al. 1990; Lamovec et al. 1994; Goh et al. 2003; Ryška et al. 2004; Rotellini et al. 2015). Moreover, the association with a chronic goiter has been challenged.

  • Age

    The mean age is the sixth-seventh decade of life (Wick et al. 2017; Collini et al. 2016; Kuhn et al. 2019).

  • Sex

    The male to female ratio is 4.5:1 in older series (Maiorana et al. 1996), but no sex prevalence is reported in more recent...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References and Further Reading

  • Chan, Y. F., Ma, L., Boey, J. H., & Yeung, H. Y. (1986). Angiosarcoma of the thyroid. An immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study of a case in a Chinese patient. Cancer, 57, 2381–2388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collini, P., Barisella, M., Renne, S. L., Pizzi, N., Mattavelli, D., Stacchiotti, S., & Mattavelli, F. (2016). Virchows Archiv, 469, 223–232.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eusebi, V., Carcangiu, M. L., Dina, R., & Rosai, J. (1990). Keratin-positive epithelioid angiosarcoma of thyroid. A report of four cases. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 14, 737–747.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goh, S. G., Chuah, K. L., Goh, H. K., & Chen, Y. Y. (2003). Two cases of epithelioid angiosarcoma involving the thyroid and a brief review of non-Alpine epithelioid angiosarcoma of the thyroid. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 127, E70–E73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, E., Ragazzi, M., Ciarrocchi, A., Torricelli, F., de Biase, D., Zanetti, E., Bisagni, A., Corrado, S., Uccella, S., La Rosa, S., Bongiovanni, M., Losito, S., & Piana, S. (2019). Angiosarcoma and anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid are two distinct entities: A morphologic, immunohistochemical, and genetic study. Modern Pathology, 32, 787–798.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lamovec, J., Zidar, A., & Zidanik, B. (1994). Epithelioid angiosarcoma of the thyroid gland. Report of two cases. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 118, 642–646.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maiorana, A., Collina, G., Cesinaro, A. M., Fano, R. A., & Eusebi, V. (1996). Epithelioid angiosarcoma of the thyroid. Clinicopathological analysis of seven cases from non-Alpine areas. Virchows Archiv, 429, 131–137.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, S. E., Stallings, R. G., & Austin, M. B. (1986). Angiomatoid carcinoma of the thyroid gland. Anaplastic carcinoma with follicular and medullary features mimicking angiosarcoma. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 86, 674–678.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, S. E., Gaffey, M. J., Watts, J. C., Swanson, P. E., Wick, M. R., LiVolsi, V. A., Nappi, O., & Weiss, L. M. (1994). Angiomatoid carcinoma and ‘angiosarcoma’ of the thyroid gland. A spectrum of endothelial differentiation. American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 102, 322–330.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Papotti, M., Volante, M., Negro, F., Eusebi, V., & Bussolati, G. (2000). Thyroglobulin mRNA expression helps to distinguish anaplastic carcinoma from angiosarcoma of the thyroid. Virchows Archiv, 437, 635–642.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rotellini, M., Vezzosi, V., & Bianchi, S. (2015). Epithelioid angiosarcoma of the thyroid: Report of a case from an Italian non-alpine area and review of the literature. Endocrine Pathology, 26, 152–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • RyÅ¡ka, A., Ludviková, M., Szépe, P., & Böör, A. (2004). Epithelioid haemangiosarcoma of the thyroid gland. Report of six cases from a non-Alpine region. Histopathology, 44, 40–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wick, M. R., Eusebi, V., Lamovec, J., & RiÅ¡ka, A. (2017). Angiosarcoma. In R. V. Lloyd, R. Y. Osamura, G. Klöppel, & J. Rosai (Eds.), WHO Classification of tumors of endocrine organs (pp. 129–132). Lyon: IARC.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pathology Unit, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Azienda USL-IRCCS Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy

    Simonetta Piana

Authors
  1. Simonetta Piana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simonetta Piana .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Piana, S. (2020). Angiosarcoma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5260-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5260-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation