Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare tumor, first characterized by Sharon Weiss

Sharon Weiss

Sharon Whelan Weiss, M.D., is an American physician who is best known for her contribution to the subspecialty of soft tissue pathology. She is the main author of Soft Tissue Tumors, one of the most widely used textbooks in the field of sarcoma and soft tissue pathology. Dr...

, M.D., that both clinically and histologically is intermediate between angiosarcoma

Angiosarcoma

Angiosarcoma is a malignant neoplasm of endothelial-type cells that line vessel walls. This may be in reference to blood or lymphatic vessels ....

 and hemangioma

Hemangioma

A hemangioma of infancy is a benign self-involuting tumor of endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels. It usually appears during the first weeks of life and sometimes resolves by age 10. In more severe case hemangioma may have permanency, if not treated by a physician...

. It is a vascular cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 in the lining of the blood vessels in the liver and lungs so rare that only 0.01 percent of the cancer population has it. Around 200 to 300 cases are diagnosed in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 every year - the cause is unknown. It is unresponsive to any known strain of chemotherapy, making treatment very difficult.

In 2003 photographer and actress Kris Carr

Kris Carr

Kris Carr is an American actress and filmmaker as well as the New York Times best-selling author of "Crazy Sexy Diet," a motivational speaker and wellness coach...

was diagnosed with epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.