Ovarian epithelioid angiosarcoma complicating pregnancy: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Epithelioid angiosarcoma is a rare and highly aggressive soft tissue angiosarcoma most commonly arising in the deep soft tissues. Given that abundant vascular cavities anastomose with each other, most angiosarcomas prone to metastasis recur quickly, and the overall prognosis is poor. We report a 25-year-old woman at 24 weeks’ gestation who presented with a 1-month history of abdominal distension. Ultrasonography suggested a mass in the right adnexa, and she underwent two operations owing to uncontrolled intraperitoneal bleeding with progressive anemia. The right ovarian tumor and right adnexa were removed successively. Biopsy yielded a diagnosis of primary epithelioid angiosarcoma with mature cystic teratoma. The patient died from uncontrolled progressive bleeding 1 week after the second operation. This case revealed that epithelial angiosarcoma is a highly malignant endothelial cell tumor. The results of surgery and chemoradiotherapy tend to be poor, and the recurrence rate is high. The purpose of this study is to raise clinical awareness of epithelial angiosarcoma and its adverse events and to provide new ideas for the treatment of these adverse events. Immunohistochemical staining of pathological specimens can facilitate diagnosis. Pregnancy with malignant tumors may lead to rapid disease progression, extensive lesions, and a poor prognosis.