Cutaneous head and neck angiosarcoma: The 30‐year UCLA experience

Abstract

Abstract Background Cutaneous angiosarcoma is an aggressive tumor commonly found in the head and neck region. There is no consensus regarding the definitive treatment for angiosarcoma. Methods This was a retrospective chart review that evaluated 64 patients from 1983 to 2019. Demographic and clinical variables were examined for impact on recurrence using the time to recurrence and the overall survival in Kaplan–Meier curves. Results Average age at diagnosis was 71 (32–95) years, with a 2.8 male: female ratio. Surgery was utilized in 62% of patients, with mean defect size of 11.4 ± 8.1 cm. Recurrence was found in 70% of patients, and mean time to recurrence was 15.3 ± 12.3 months. Decreased recurrence was associated with use of intraoperative frozen section analysis (p = .036) and negative margins (p = .086). Two‐year overall survival was 80%, and recurrence free survival was 30%. Conclusions Negative margins are associated with decreased recurrence, and intraoperative frozen section analysis may be considered to obtain preliminary surgical margins. Level of Evidence: 4.

Keywords

• angiosarcoma
• cutaneous malignancy
• scalp
• skin cancer
• soft tissue sarcoma