Epithelioid angiosarcoma of the duodenum: a case report

BACKGROUND: Angiosarcomas are rare malignant tumors that arise from the endothelium of blood vessels. They occur most commonly in the skin and soft tissue, and less commonly in the breast, liver, bone, and spleen. Gastrointestinal angiosarcomas are extremely rare. Herein, we present a case of duodenal epithelioid angiosarcoma that was treated with surgical resection. CASE PRESENTATION: A 68-year-old man presented with a 1-month history of fatigue and hypotension. He visited the outpatient clinic for a routine follow-up. Laboratory examination revealed anemia. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed multiple duodenal lesions with central ulceration. A biopsy showed a sheet-like arrangement of large round and spindle-shaped tumor cells that were positive for CD31. Based on the histological and immunohistochemical staining findings, an epithelioid angiosarcoma was diagnosed. Computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography–CT revealed no lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis. Radical subtotal stomach-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy with lymphadenectomy was performed. After removing the specimen, reconstruction was performed using the Child procedure. Grossly, two dark-red polypoid tumors were found in the second portion of the duodenum. Histological evaluation revealed proliferation of malignant round and polygonal cells arranged in sheets and spindle-like cells arranged in bundles. Vasoformative structures were recognized as slit-like spaces containing red blood cells. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that the tumor cells were positive for CD31. These findings confirmed the diagnosis of epithelioid angiosarcoma in the duodenum. The patient’s postoperative course was uneventful. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 19 without any complications. At a follow-up examination in the outpatient clinic at postoperative 4 months, no evidence of recurrence was detected. CONCLUSION: The present report describes a case of duodenal epithelioid angiosarcoma. Duodenal angiosarcomas may cause anemia and gastrointestinal bleeding. Because angiosarcomas sometimes show epithelioid cytomorphology, immunohistochemical analysis is useful for confirming the diagnosis.