Hemangiosarcoma of the Spleen in Humans

Cancer is a word that brings with it fear, terror and, in some cases, confusion. After all, cancers have odd names. Imagine hearing that someone has hemangiosarcoma of the spleen, more commonly referred to as splenic angiosarcoma. While extremely rare, this form of cancer brings with it almost certain death for those who develop the disease. Treatments produce limited results, and studies are all but nonexistent given the rarity of the condition.

Facts

• Hemangiosarcoma is a rare vascular cancer that attacks rapidly and spreads quickly in humans. The term angiosarcoma is often used by doctors to refer to hemangiosarcoma, but angiosarcomas are a larger group of cancers that include other cancers, including skin cancers, that have a tendency of attacking soft tissue. The spleen is a soft tissue organ that plays a key role in the human vascular system. The long, flat organ in the abdominal cavity stores blood, makes new blood cells and destroys old blood cells.

Significance

• Hemangiosarcomas are rare but extremely deadly forms of cancer. These cancers have a high rate of metastasis, meaning the cancers spread quickly to other parts of the body. When they occur in the spleen, they often spread to the lungs and liver. Likewise, they can spread from the liver to the spleen. Prompt treatment of the hemangiosarcoma cancers is vital to survival, but limited research into hemangiosarcomas makes treatment difficult.

Identification

• Hemangiosarcoma of the spleen appears as a large, cancerous growth. It appears as a large hemorrhagic mass and ordinarily shows epithelioid cytomorphology, which refers to the appearance of the cells. In most cases, the cells resemble epithelial cells, long, pink cells similar in their structure to epithelial cells, which are commonly found as border cells that separate organs from other cells.

Features

• Angiosarcomas in the spleen are referred to as splenic angiosarcomas. When an angiosarcoma occurs in the spleen with no previous cancer in the body, it is referred to as a primary angiosarcoma, meaning that the disease originated in the spleen and did not spread to the spleen from elsewhere. Most available information about the cancer relates to its more common appearance in canines. In humans, no more than 200 cases have been reported in literature worldwide, according to an October 2005 report in the journal Diagnostic Pathology. The average age of individuals who suffer the cancer is 59. In one study of 28 patients with splenic hemangiosarcoma, 26 died, even though they received aggressive therapy.

Causes

• In humans, some toxic substances have been linked to hemangiosarcoma. These substances include arsenic, vinyl chloride and thorium dioxide. According to Dr. Sampurna Roy, angiosarcomas often occur in patients who have received thorium dioxide for cerebral angiography and in vineyard workers exposed to certain insecticides. Industrial workers exposed to vinyl chloride are also at increased risk of developing hemangiosarcomas.

Symptoms

• Hemangiosarcoma of the spleen often results in abdominal pain. Splenic rupture and splenomegaly, an enlargement of the spleen, is also common, according to the findings of doctors at the University of Texas Cancer Center. In a study of 16 men and 12 women, 75 percent complained of abdominal pain and 25 percent had splenic rupture. Seventeen patients had anemia, and the vast majority had splenomegaly.