Hepatic Angiosarcoma: A Multi-institutional, International Experience with 44 Cases

Background: Hepatic angiosarcoma is a rare primary liver tumor. The aim of this current study was to evaluate the presentation and treatment outcomes in a modern cohort.

Methods: This was a retrospective, multi-institutional, observational study of patients with histopathologic diagnoses of primary hepatic angiosarcoma from four institutions. Clinicopathologic characteristics, treatments, and patient outcomes were examined.

Results: Forty-four patients with hepatic angiosarcoma were identified. Patients were predominantly Caucasian and presented at a median age of 63.7 years; 81.4% of patients had bilobar disease and 37.2% had metastatic disease at the time of presentation. Only 10 patients underwent surgical resection. Median overall survival for the entire cohort was 5.8 months (interquartile range 1.9-16.4), and 1-, 3-, and 5-year actual survival was 30.0%, 8.1%, and 5.6%, respectively. There were only two 5-year survivors, both of whom presented with localized disease and underwent curative resection.

Conclusion: The prognosis for hepatic angiosarcoma remains quite poor. Surgical resection for localized disease results in the best outcomes. Unfortunately, current imaging modalities are often non- diagnostic, and most patients are unresectable at the time of presentation.