Masson's "vegetant intravascular hemangioendothelioma:" a lesion often mistaken for angiosarcoma: study of seventeen cases located in the skin and soft tissues

Abstract

The occurrence of Masson's "hemangio-endotheliome vegetant intravasculaire" (Masson's pseudoangiosarcoma) in the skin and soft tissues is illustrated with 17 surgically excised specimens. Two forms are recognized; it may appear either as a pure lesion or as a focal condition in a pre-existing vascular process, such as pyogenic granuloma or hemangioma. The clinical appearance is not specific and the diagnosis can only be established by microscopic examination. It shows a predilection for the head and extremities. Its characteristic morphologic appearance makes possible its differentiation from a group of benign and malignant vascular proliferations. The key microscopic feature is the presence of a papillary growth composed of hyperplastic endothelial cells supported by delicate fibrous stalks entirely confined within the vascular lumen. The lesion should not be mistaken for angiosarcoma, since its clinical behavior is invariably benign.