Angiosarcoma of the spleen

Abstract

A thirty seven year old previously healthy lady presented with episodes of vague left sided upper abdominal pain of three months duration. Investigations revealed anaemia and thrombocytopenia. The ultrasound scan and the computed tomography of the abdomen showed splenomegaly with multiple echogenic nodules suggestive of a lymphoproliferative disease. A splenectomy was done. Multiple hemorrhagic liver nodules were identified during the surgery. The histology revealed a well differentiated angiosarcoma of the spleen with secondary deposits in the liver. Primary angiosarcoma of the spleen is a rare mesenchymal malignant tumor of vascular origin and is a rare cause of hypersplenism due to sequestration of blood in the spleen.

Keywords

• hypersplenism
• angiosarcoma