Turkish Neurosurgery 2014 , Vol 24 , Num 1
Successful Treatment of a Very Rare Angiosarcoma Involving the Lumbar Spine Via En-Bloc Resection and Radiotherapy: Case Report
Osman Arikan NACAR1, Mustafa Onur ULU2, Melike PEKMEZCI3, Vedat DEVIREN2, Christopher AMES1
1University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Department of Neurological Surgery, San Francisco, California, USA
2University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Division of Spine Surgery, San Francisco, California, USA
3University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Department of Pathology, San Francisco, California, USA
DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.8134-13.0 Angiosarcomas are rare malignant vascular tumors that comprise only approximately 2% of all soft tissue sarcomas. They are mainly located in the head and neck area and spinal involvement is particularly very uncommon, reported only in occasional case reports or as single cases as part of a clinical series. There is therefore limited data in the literature regarding the optimum treatment strategy. Due to the aggressive nature of these lesions total resection is challenging and the overall survival time is short. In this report the authors report the successful management of a 37-year-old male harbouring spinal angiosarcoma involving the L2 level via en-bloc resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. The patient is disease-free at the 4th year follow-up and the radiological investigations are without the evidence of local recurrence, metastasis or implant failure. En bloc resection of spinal angiosarcomas can significantly improve survival and the surgical treatment should aim for this whenever possible. Keywords : Angiosarcoma, En bloc spondylectomy, Lumbar spine, Radiotherapy, Surgery
Corresponding author : Osman Arikan Nacar, nacar.osman@gmail.com