Primary peritoneal angiosarcoma: a case report

Peritoneal angiosarcoma is an extremely rare sarcoma (0.01287% incidence per 100,000) with an aggressive clinical course and a poor prognosis. We herein report a case of a young man with diagnosis of angiosarcoma whose tumor adhering to the inferior wall of his bladder and omentum was initially thought to be rhabdomyosarcoma. His disease state progressively worsened, despite initiation of different types of chemotherapies. Blood was tested for cytokine and soluble receptor levels. Unexpectedly and never previously reported, very high levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), osteopontin, and prolactin were found. Surprisingly, angiogenic cytokines levels were low. The patient died 5 months after initial presentation. In the present report, we discuss the difficulties in diagnosing this rare sarcoma and possible therapeutic targets, including the IL-6 pathway that may provide more effective ways in controlling this cancer in its metastatic stage.