Angiosarcoma of the scalp: report of two cases with fatal pulmonary complications and a review of Japanese autopsy registry data

Abstract

Two cases of angiosarcoma of the scalp were reported. The patients were elderly men and died from pulmonary complications, including pneumothorax, pulmonary haemorrhage and pneumonia, associated with metastatic tumours in the lungs. The data recorded from 95 autopsies of patients with angiosarcoma in Japan during 1980-1984 were analyzed. According to the anatomical distribution of the primary tumour, the patients could be subdivided into a scalp group and non-scalp group. In both groups, the most common metastatic site was the lung. The patients of the scalp group had more frequent pulmonary complications such as pneumonia, haemothorax, atelectasis and pneumothorax, when compared with the patients of the non-scalp group. In particular, pneumothorax was observed only in the patients of angiosarcoma of the scalp. The results indicate that angiosarcoma of the scalp tends to metastasize to the lung, especially to the subpleural or surface pleural area and these metastatic tumours are prone to necrosis, causing characteristic pulmonary complications.