Hemopneumothorax secondary to multiple cavitary metastasis in angiosarcoma of the scalp

Abstract

We report a case of hemopneumothorax secondary to multiple cavitary metastasis in the angiosarcoma of the scalp in an 86-year-old woman, who died of respiratory failure. At autopsy, multiple cavities were found in both lungs. Histologic specimen of the cavitary metastasis of the lung showed that tumor cells proliferated forming several tubular spaces and these tubular spaces seemed to communicate with the central cyst. These findings suggested that imperfect vessel-like structures of the cavitary metastasis are likely to break down and finally grow up to large thin-walled cavities.