Cardiac Angiosarcoma : Prognosis

Comments:
Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is a highly aggressive tumor. Most patients rapidly succumb to their disease. The median overall survival is about 13 months and much shorter (about 6 months) for those with metastases at presentation. Death can occur from congestive heart failure, pulmonary edema, fatal arrhythmias (due to myocardial infiltration), wall rupture (due to necrosis) leading to hemopericardium and cardiac tamponade, and systemic emboli.

The image shows proliferation of capillary caliber vascular channels lined by minimally atypial endothelium at the periphery of a cardiac angiosarcoma.