[Vascular tumours and malformations, classification, pathology and imaging]

Abstract

The understanding of vascular anomalies (vascular tumours and vascular malformations) was obscured, for a long time, by confusion and uncertainties in nosology and terminology. The International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) recently adopted a classification scheme, clearly separating vascular tumours (hemangiomas of different types) which result from active cell proliferation, from vascular malformations, which are inborn defects in vascular morphogenesis. These two types of lesions have different clinical behaviour and require different diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The most frequent vascular tumour is infantile hemangioma. Its clinical aspects and evolution are well-known. New data have been recently obtained concerning the phenotype of tumour cells and its histogenesis. Of the numerous new vascular tumours, which have been recently described, only the congenital hemangiomas, the vascular tumours associated with the Maffucci syndrome and the tumours that may be complicated by a profound thrombocytopenia (Kasabach and Merritt phenomenon) will be considered. Vascular malformations can be classified according to the vessel(s) types they are composed of. A classification table is presented, separating the malformations of vascular trunks from tissular malformations which are more intimately embedded in the surrounding tissues. The different syndromes associated with vascular anomalies take also place in this table. The clinical, imaging and histological aspects of the most frequent malformations (capillary, venous, lymphatic and arteriovenous) are presented. This classification intend to clarify the nosology and terminology of the complex field of vascular tumours and malformation and to offer a common language to the different physicians and specialists contributing, preferably with a interdisciplinary approach, to the diagnosis and treatment of these difficult lesions.