Pancreas angiosarcoma—Case report of a rare cause of abdominal pain

INTRODUCTION: Pancreas angiosarcoma is a very aggressive malignant neoplasm. The symptoms are nonspecific and it is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, which confers a poor prognosis. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present a 56-year-old woman with abdominal epigastric pain and nausea. The abdominal CT-scan showed a 7 cm mass within the head of the pancreas and the pathology and immunochemistry analysis were positive for pancreas angiosarcoma. Intra-operatively the tumor was irresectable. DISCUSSION: Pancreas angiosarcoma is an extremely rare neoplasm with non-specific diagnosis. The histology has a wide range of presentations and immunohistochemistry is required. The surgery appears to be the only effective treatment. CONCLUSION: We report the seventh case of pancreas angiosarcoma in the English literature. Despite it’s irresectability, the patient was asymptomatic two months after surgery, initiating chemotherapy with paclitaxel, with good tolerance.