Angiosarcoma of the spleen mimicking rupture. Case report and literature review

Primary angiosarcoma of the spleen is very rare and only 143 cases have previously been reported. The pathogenesis is unknown. The clinical aspects are variable, but loss of weight, anaemia, splenomegaly and liver metastases are frequently present. The age range is generally 18 to 93 years; only four of the reported patients were under 20 (Chen KTK). The prognosis is very poor in any case and survival isn't more than two years: wherever the spleen undergoes spontaneous rupture the survival should be less than six months. Patients with or without metastatic disease may be treated by chemotherapy but with poor results. Radiotherapy is used for the pain from bone metastasis. We report the clinical case concerning a 79-years-old man with liver metastases and a 5-cm lesion in the spleen, where a subcapsular rupture was suspected.