Angiosarcoma Prognosis
Angiosarcoma prognosis is usually not good because the cancer is aggressive, treating it is hard and recur frequently. Because the symptoms can be broad or appear too late in the disease, there is a delay in diagnosis. The earlier the angiosarcoma is diagnosed and the faster the treatment is begun the better the prognosis. Factors that affect prognosis include:
- tumor size
- treatment
- site of primary cancer
- extent the cancer has spread
The size of the tumor can affect the angiosarcoma prognosis, as it is easier to get a clearer margin around a smaller tumor. It is difficult to get a completely clear or negative margin at the microscopic level as this tumor can have numerous and irregular vascular channels not easily detected at the cellular level. The need for frequent surgical removal is why there is a need. Surgical resection combined with radiotherapy may offer a person a better prognosis if it can be done aggressively at an early stage of tumor development. The prognosis is not good if the cancer develops to other sites.
Cutaneous angiosarcoma is the most common kind and the one with the best angiosarcoma prognosis. Many times it is caught at an early stage and surgical removal with radiation helps the survival rate of more than five years. An angiogenesis inhibitor called Paclitaxel is used to help the angiosarcoma of the face and the scalp.
The prognosis of liver angiosarcoma is never good. Liver angiosarcoma is often asymtomatic until a later stage of the disease. It has often spread to other parts of the liver and body making it very difficult to treat. A few people respond well to chemotherapy. There is a fast progressive clinical course in many cases. Survival rate is usually 6 months to 2 years.
A high mitotic count can indicate the presence of rapidly dividing cells. Cancerous tissue has more mitotic activity than normal tissue. Angiosarcoma prognosis usually is poorer if the count is high which is signaling a fast spreading cancer. As other cancers, angiosarcoma’s cell replication is uncontrollable, however the connection to the circulatory system presents a unique threat to a person’s health. It spreads without any difficulties through the blood system to other parts of the body.
Angiosarcoma prognosis is better when the cancer is limited to a primary site with an aggressive use of surgical resection with radiotherapy. New research and more sophisticated use of radiotherapy, surgical resection, and chemotherapy are increasing the survival rate of this disease.
