Cardiac angiosarcoma treated with resection and adjuvant radiation therapy

Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive tumor with a remarkably high rate of metastasis. Due to the high rate of metastasis, surgical resection is often limited and survival expectations modest. This report describes the case of a 35-year-old African-American woman with initially non-metastatic primary right atrial angiosarcoma who was treated with surgical resection of the primary tumor, reconstruction of the right atrium, and patch repair of the atrial septum via Gore-Tex patch. She underwent post-operative radiation therapy to the atrial bed with curative intent. However, after eight months of symptom-free survival, she presented with extensive metastases within bone and the right retroperitoneum without local recurrence. Palliative radiation treatment commenced for the metastases in the retroperitoneum and cervical spine.