Angiosarcoma of the mandible

Abstract

Angiosarcoma is a rare malignancy of vascular endothelium which may arise from either blood or lymphatic vessels. These tumors are aggressive with a tendency to recur locally and also have a high rate of lymph node and systemic metastases. Angiosarcomas occur more frequently in skin and soft tissue. Occurrence of a primary or metastatic angiosarcoma in the oral cavity is extremely rare. The purpose of this article is to document a case of primary angiosarcoma in the right mandible of a 20 year old woman. The tumor presented as a rapidly enlarging lobulated soft tissue mass which was associated with an irregular radiolytic defect in the right mandible. Histological features of the lesion were suggestive of a high grade angiosarcoma. The patient was successfully treated with a combination therapy involving surgery and chemotherapy. There were no signs of tumor recurrence or metastasis after one and a half year of follow up.

Keywords

• Angiosarcoma
• mandible and oral malignancy