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
. 2023 Aug;45(8):1943-1951.
doi: 10.1002/hed.27418. Epub 2023 Jun 5.

Outcomes after definitive treatment for cutaneous angiosarcomas of the face and scalp: Reevaluating the role of surgery and radiation therapy

Affiliations

Outcomes after definitive treatment for cutaneous angiosarcomas of the face and scalp: Reevaluating the role of surgery and radiation therapy

Alison K Yoder et al. Head Neck. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Introduction: We investigated outcomes and prognostic factors for patients treated for cutaneous angiosarcoma (CA).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients treated for CA of the face and scalp from 1962 to 2019. All received definitive treatment with surgery, radiation (RT), or a combination (S-XRT). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate outcomes. Multivariable analyses were conducted using the Cox proportional hazards model.

Results: For the 143 patients evaluated median follow-up was 33 months. Five-year LC was 51% and worse in patients with tumors >5 cm, multifocal tumors, those treated pre-2000, and with single modality therapy (SMT). These remained associated with worse LC on multivariable analysis. The 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) for the cohort was 56%. Tumor size >5 cm, non-scalp primary site, treatment pre-2000, and SMT were associated with worse DSS.

Conclusion: Large or multifocal tumors are negative prognostic factors in patients with head and neck CA. S-XRT improved outcomes.

Keywords: angiosarcoma; radiation; surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to report

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in entire cohort of patients undergoing definitive treatment for cutaneous head and neck angiosarcoma.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Comparing local control (LC) in patients with cutaneous head and neck angiosarcoma who received combined modality therapy (S-XRT) versus single modality therapy (SMT)

References

    1. Costache M, Ene AM, Simionescu O, Sajin M. Histopathological diagnosis of cutaneous vascular sarcomas. Rom J Morphol Embryol. 2010;51(1):105–9. - PubMed
    1. Rouhani P, Fletcher CDM, Devesa SS, Toro JR. Cutaneous soft tissue sarcoma incidence patterns in the U.S. Cancer. 2008;113(3):616–27. - PubMed
    1. Albores-Saavedra J, Schwartz AM, Henson DE, Kostun L, Hart A, Angeles-Albores D, et al. Cutaneous angiosarcoma. Analysis of 434 cases from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, 1973–2007. Annals of Diagnostic Pathology. 2011;15(2):93–7. - PubMed
    1. Fayette J, Martin E, Piperno-Neumann S, Le Cesne A, Robert C, Bonvalot S, et al. Angiosarcomas, a heterogeneous group of sarcomas with specific behavior depending on primary site: a retrospective study of 161 cases. Annals of Oncology. 2007;18(12):2030–6. - PubMed
    1. Holden CA, Spittle MF, Jones EW. Angiosarcoma of the face and scalp, prognosis and treatment. Cancer. 1987;59(5):1046–57. - PubMed

Publication types