Intra-abdominal telangiectatic osteosarcoma: a case report

Telangiectatic osteosarcoma is rare and it rarely affects flat bones, especially the bones of the pelvis. It is uncommon for telangiectatic osteosarcoma to be considered as a differential diagnosis when assessing a large intrabdominal mass.

We present our case of a 33-year-old African female who presented with a sizeable telangiectatic osteosarcoma of the left iliac bone. She reported a 3-year duration of a painless, slow-growing mass arising from the left flank. At examination, a large bony hard mass extending from the left ilium to the umbilicus was noted, almost mimicking an intra-abdominal pregnancy. All laboratory tests were within normal limits and an unconventional surgical approach was used for a one-stage excision of the tumor without complications. The definitive histopathological diagnosis postexcision was that of a telangiectatic osteosarcoma only on the second review of the histological specimen.

Pelvic telangiectatic osteosarcoma is rare, and the ilium is the commonly affected pelvic bone. These tumors can be sizeable at presentation with intra-abdominal or pelvic extension with a high chance of misdiagnosis. Fortunately surrounding soft tissue involvement seems to be a rare and late finding when present.