[Clinical aspects and therapy of hemangiopericytoma]

Hemangiopericytomas are soft tissue sarcomas of vascular origin consisting of pericytes. 484 cases from the literature and 6 from the University Surgical Clinic, Cologne, were studied with regard to age, sex, organ distribution, symptoms and course of disease. The age ranged from 3.5 to 92 years, with a peak in the fifth and sixth decades. Females predominated only slightly. Hemangiopericytomas were most common in the extremities (35%). The symptoms were not characteristic. A painless mass was the first symptom in 60% of patients. The frequency of recurrence was high (32%) and metastases developed in 39% of patients. Wide local excision is the treatment of choice. Hemangiopericytoma appears to be a radioresistant neoplasm, nor is there evidence that chemotherapy is a useful adjunct in its treatment.