Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015;89(4):205-14.
doi: 10.1159/000381917. Epub 2015 Jun 3.

Outcomes of Systemic Therapy for Patients with Metastatic Angiosarcoma

Sandra P D'Angelo  1 , Rodrigo R Munhoz, Deborah Kuk, Johnathan Landa, Eliza W Hartley, Michael Bonafede, Mark A Dickson, Mrinal Gounder, Mary L Keohan, Aimee M Crago, Cristina R Antonescu, William D Tap
Affiliations

Outcomes of Systemic Therapy for Patients with Metastatic Angiosarcoma

Sandra P D'Angelo et al. Oncology. 2015.

Abstract

Background: Angiosarcomas (AS) are rare tumors of vascular origin with a variable behavior and overall poor prognosis. We sought to assess the outcomes of patients treated for metastatic disease.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 119 patients treated for metastatic AS. Outcomes and efficacy measurements of the first and subsequent lines of treatment were analyzed.

Results: Median age was 61 years, and the most frequent primary sites were chest wall/breast (31%), viscera (22%) and head/neck (20%). Seventy-three (61%) and 46 (39%) patients received ≥ 2 and ≥ 3 lines of therapy, respectively. The most commonly used agents included taxanes and anthracyclines. Median overall survival was 12.1 months. Median times to tumor progression were 3.5 months for first line, 3.7 months for second line and 2.7 months for third line. Among 48 patients evaluable per RECIST, the overall response rate to first line was 30% and <10% in subsequent lines. Doxorubicin, liposomal doxorubicin and taxanes resulted in similar response rates and survival, and there was no apparent benefit for combination chemotherapy.

Conclusion: Despite reasonable response rates in the first-line setting, benefit from systemic therapy is short-lived in metastatic AS, and outcomes are poor. Doxorubicin, liposomal doxorubicin and taxanes are reasonable and appropriate choices for monotherapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overall survival curves for specific subgroups. Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier plots: Cutaneous versus non-cutaneous AS (A); KPS at baseline (B); Status of extrapulmonary visceral involvement (C); type of first-line chemotherapy (D).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Median TTP curves for different first-line treatments and response to first line treatment Figure 2. mTTP Kaplan-Meier plots based on type of first-line chemotherapy (A); Waterfall plot for illustrating patterns of response to first-line chemotherapy, each bar represents an individual patient (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rouhani P, Fletcher CD, Devesa SS, Toro JR. Cutaneous soft tissue sarcoma incidence patterns in the U.S.: an analysis of 12,114 cases. Cancer. 2008;113:616–627. - PubMed
    1. Weiss SWGJ. Enzinger & Weiss’s soft tissue tumors. 5. Mosby; 2008.
    1. Penel N, Marreaud S, Robin Y, et al. Angiosarcoma: State of the art and perspectives. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2011;80:257–263. - PubMed
    1. Fury MG, Antonescu CR, Van Zee KJ, Brennan MF, Maki RG. A 14-year retrospective review of angiosarcoma: clinical characteristics, prognostic factors, and treatment outcomes with surgery and chemotherapy. Cancer J. 2005;11:241–247. - PubMed
    1. Weiss SW, Lasota J, Miettinem MM. Angiosarcoma of soft tissue. In: Fletcher CDM, Unni KK, Mertens F, et al., editors. WHO Classification Tumours of Soft Tissue and Bone. Lyon, France: IARC Press; 2002. pp. 175–177.