Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 21, 2015; 21(39): 11199-11204
Published online Oct 21, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i39.11199
Case report of primary splenic angiosarcoma with hepatic metastases
Fang Chen, Hai-Feng Jin, Yi-Hong Fan, Li-Jun Cai, Zhuo-Yi Zhang, Bin Lv
Fang Chen, Hai-Feng Jin, Yi-Hong Fan, Li-Jun Cai, Bin Lv, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang Province, China
Zhuo-Yi Zhang, Department of Emergency, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Chen F, Jin HF and Fan YH designed the report; Cai LJ and Zhang ZY collected the patient’s clinical data; Lv B contributed to revising the manuscript; Chen F and Jin HF wrote the paper.
Supported by Department of Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
Institutional review board statement: The patient in the case report deceased within 4 weeks of admission to hospital. She was therefore unable to consent to this, but her daughter is available to consent. The case has been discussed with the most senior member of staff in charge of the patient’s care who has given consent for this, and consent was obtained for use of accompanying radiological images from the consultant radiologist. The study was reviewed and approved by the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University Institutional Review Board.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare that we have no financial or personal relationships with other individuals or organizations that would inappropriately influence our work. There is no professional or other personal interest of any nature in any product or service.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Yi-Hong Fan, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, No. 54 Youdian Road, Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang Province, China. yhfansjr@163.com
Telephone: +86-571-86620285 Fax: +86-571-86620281
Received: March 30, 2015
Peer-review started: March 31, 2015
First decision: June 2, 2015
Revised: June 29, 2015
Accepted: August 30, 2015
Article in press: August 30, 2015
Published online: October 21, 2015
Processing time: 202 Days and 18.5 Hours
Abstract

Primary splenic angiosarcoma (PSA) is the most unusual type of malignancy with early multifocal metastasis through hematogenous spread. PSA is generally believed to originate from splenic sinusoidal vascular endothelium with a high rate of metastasis and to have a poor prognosis. Its etiology and pathogenetic mechanisms have not yet been clearly described. Thus far, only approximately 200 cases have been reported. PSA has variable symptomatology with the potential to present with life-threatening complications. The diagnosis of PSA is challenging; and often late. PSA should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with splenomegaly and anemia of unknown etiology. Surgical treatment with splenectomy is considered the only curative intervention for potential long-term disease-free survival. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important. It is important that clinical doctors improve the understanding of PSA. Herein, we report one rare case of PSA with hepatic metastases, along with a review of the current literature.

Keywords: Primary splenic angiosarcoma; Hepatic metastases; Rupture; Splenectomy; Case report

Core tip: Primary splenic angiosarcoma (PSA) is an aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis. It has variable symptomatology with the potential to present with life-threatening complications. Its etiology has not yet been established, and its clinical presentation may confuse even experienced physicians. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important. It is important that clinical doctors improve the understanding of PSA. Herein, we report one rare case of PSA with hepatic metastases, along with a review of the current literature.