Deep Vein Thrombosis as an Initial Symptom of Malignant Tumor: A Case Report of Angiosarcoma in the Iliac Vein

Abstract

Although deep vein thrombosis, as well as subsequent pulmonary embolism, is one of the major and fatal complications in cases of malignant neoplasm, it most often occurs after the diagnosis or treatment of the tumor. On the other hand, malignant tumors that develop with deep vein thrombosis as a specific initial symptom are extremely rare. Here, we report a case of angiosarcoma of the iliac vein, whose initial symptom was dyspnea due to pulmonary embolism. Although angiosarcoma arising directly from major blood vessels is rare, literature reviews, as well as our case, indicate that thromboembolism is an important initial symptom related to angiosarcoma from thick blood vessels and may contribute to immediate diagnosis and therapeutic intervention.

Keywords

• deep vein thrombosis
• angiosarcoma
• iliac vein
• thromboembolism
• initial onset