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
Case Reports
. 2017 Nov;96(45):e8507.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000008507.

Apatinib for the treatment of pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma: A case report and literature review

Zhipeng Zheng  1 , Hanying Wang, Hanliang Jiang, Enguo Chen, Jun Zhang, Xinyou Xie
Affiliations
Case Reports

Apatinib for the treatment of pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma: A case report and literature review

Zhipeng Zheng et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Rationale: Pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (P-EHE) is a rare tumor, with no established standard treatment. Overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) has been reported in some P-EHE patients. Apatinib, a new small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that specifically targets VEGFR-2, has therapeutic benefits in some advanced tumors. However, its efficacy in P-EHE cases has not been reported.

Patient concerns: Herein, we presented a 44-year-old man with recurrent hemoptysis for approximately 9 years.

Diagnoses: After hospitalization, relevant examinations were conducted. The disease was subsequently diagnosed as P-EHE.

Interventions: The patient underwent pulmonary lobectomy, but subsequently developed multiple metastases. Within the tumor, CD31, CK, and Vimentin were found to be positive, while CD34 was negative. Apatinib was initially administered 250 mg daily doses and after 1 month was increased to 500 mg daily.

Outcomes: He showed noticeable symptomatic improvements and positive imaging changes in the first month of treatment. However, the disease progressed in the following month, despite the increased apatinib dose.

Lessons: Apatinib is possibly a new treatment for P-EHE. However, further clinical trials are necessary to confirm an effective dose and the efficacy and safety of apatinib in P-EHE treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Thoracic CT reveals increased bilateral lung markings and diffuse lesions, including multiple ill-defined nodules, with the largest one (the arrow, 2.1 × 2.4 cm) surrounded by ground-glass opacities and multiple bilateral chest wall and pleural thickening. CT = computed tomography.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Thoracic CT reveals bilateral lung wild markings that were more clear than before, and the multiple nodules had decreased in size, the largest one (the arrow, 0.8 × 1.2 cm), with unnoticeable surrounding ground-glass opacities and less pleural thickening.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Thoracic CT reveals once again diffuse lesions of bilateral lungs, which were more obvious than previously, with multiple ill-defined nodules, the largest one (the arrow, 1.4 × 2.1 cm), surrounded by ground-glass opacities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Corrin B, Manners B, Millard M, et al. Histogenesis of the so-called “intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumour”. J Pathol 1979;128:163–7. - PubMed
    1. Weiss SW, Enzinger FM. Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma: a vascular tumor often mistaken for a carcinoma. Cancer 1982;50:970–81. - PubMed
    1. Travis WD, Brambilla E, Nicholson AG, et al. The 2015 World Health Organization Classification of Lung Tumors: impact of genetic, clinical and radiologic advances since the 2004 classification. J Thorac Oncol 2015;10:1243–60. - PubMed
    1. Rojas-Vigott R, Castro CM, Mendez SR. Pulmonary-epithelioid hemangioendothelioma: a case report of spontaneous regression: track: supportive care and others. J Thorac Oncol 2016;11:S231–2. - PubMed
    1. Kitaichi M, Nagai S, Nishimura K, et al. Pulmonary epithelioid haemangioendothelioma in 21 patients, including three with partial spontaneous regression. Eur Respir J 1998;12:89–96. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms