Efficacy of weekly docetaxel in locally advanced cardiac angiosarcoma

BACKGROUND: Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is extremely aggressive; however, it is often misdiagnosed because of its rarity. For locally advanced tumors, doxorubicin-based chemotherapy regimens are the standard of treatment, even if the gain in term of progression-free survival is limited and is no longer than 5 months. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a Caucasian 23-year-old man with locally advanced cardiac angiosarcoma who underwent radical surgical resection after a prolonged response to weekly docetaxel and complementary radiotherapy. CONCLUSION: Combined treatment with weekly docetaxel and radiotherapy may be a valid alternative for the treatment of locally advanced cardiac angiosarcoma; the combination can lead to radical surgical resections, avoiding the cumulative cardiotoxicity of antracycline-based regimens.