Angiosarcoma of the breast: report of two long-term survivals

Angiosarcoma of the breast is a rare mesenchymal malignancy with a poor prognosis. One hundred sixty-four cases have been reported in the literature with 19 five-year, and 7 ten-year disease-free survivals. Two new cases of angiosarcoma of the breast are presented here, with disease-free survivals of five and ten years. In most series reviewed, angiosarcoma of the breast demonstrates as a rapidly fatal disease. Because axillary lymph node metastasis is rare, simple mastectomy with wide surgical margins is the procedure of choice. The mammographic and histologic findings may appear deceptively benign. A correlation exists between the histologic characteristics and the prognosis. Although there have been reports of increased survival with Actinomycin D, adjuvant therapy has failed to significantly alter the course of the disease in most series.