Hemangioendothelioma
Encyclopedia
Hemangioendothelioma is used to describe a group of vascular neoplasms that may be considered benign
or malignant
in their activity.
and angiosarcoma
. They are vascular tumor
s that commonly present with an enlarging mass and have been reported in the head
and neck
, intestines, lungs, lymph nodes, pleura, retroperitoneum
, stomach
, and many other body sites.
, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy
have all been used to treat these masses.
Benign
A benign tumor is a tumor that lacks the ability to metastasize. Common examples of benign tumors include moles and uterine fibroids.The term "benign" implies a mild and nonprogressive disease. Indeed, many kinds of benign tumors are harmless to human health...
or malignant
Malignant
Malignancy is the tendency of a medical condition, especially tumors, to become progressively worse and to potentially result in death. Malignancy in cancers is characterized by anaplasia, invasiveness, and metastasis...
in their activity.
Presentation
They have been described as masses that fall between a hemangiomaHemangioma
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...
and 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 ....
. They are vascular tumor
Vascular tumor
Vascular tumor may mean:* tumor of vascular origin, a growth formed from blood vessels; for example, hemangioma, Lymphangioma, hemangioendothelioma, Kaposi sarcoma, angiosarcoma, etc....
s that commonly present with an enlarging mass and have been reported in the head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
and neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
, intestines, lungs, lymph nodes, pleura, retroperitoneum
Retroperitoneum
The retroperitoneal space is the anatomical space in the abdominal cavity behind the peritoneum. It has no specific delineating anatomical structures...
, stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
, and many other body sites.
Treatment
Surgical resectionSegmental resection
Segmental resection is a surgical procedure to remove part of an organ or gland. It may also be used to remove a tumor and normal tissue around it. In lung cancer surgery, segmental resection refers to removing a section of a lobe of the lung.- External links :* entry in the public domain NCI...
, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
have all been used to treat these masses.
Types of hemangioendotheliomas
- EpithelioidEpithelioid hemangioendotheliomaEpithelioid hemangioendothelioma is a rare tumor, first characterized by Sharon Weiss, M.D., that both clinically and histologically is intermediate between angiosarcoma and hemangioma. It is a vascular cancer in the lining of the blood vessels in the liver and lungs so rare that only 0.01 percent...
- KaposiformKaposiform hemangioendotheliomaKaposiform hemangioendothelioma is an uncommon vascular tumor, first described by Zukerberg, Nickoloff, and Weiss in 1993, that affects infants and young children, with rare cases having also been reported in adults....
- Retiform