A case of primary pleural epithelioid hemangioendothelioma achieving stable disease with paclitaxel treatment: A case report and literature review

Abstract

Abstract Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare vascular neoplasm with a clinical behaviour that falls between a benign hemangioma and a high‐grade angiosarcoma. Pleural EHE is exceptionally rare, and its prognosis is grim, with most patients experiencing survival of less than 1 year. Here, we present a case of pleural EHE in a 45‐year‐old woman with a month‐long history of right‐sided pleuritic chest pain. Chest computed tomography revealed consolidation, atelectasis of the right lung, right pleural thickening, and pleural effusion. She underwent video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery for decortication and was diagnosed with conclusively pleural EHE, showing a CAMTA1 rearrangement. Paclitaxel treatment, administered once weekly on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28‐day cycle, resulted in a stable disease after 12 cycles. Managing patients with pleural EHE is challenging because there are still no established standard treatments. Our case achieved 11‐month progression‐free survival following paclitaxel treatment.

Keywords

• CAMTA1
• epithelioid hemangioendothelioma
• paclitaxel
• pleural effusion
• pleural malignancy