What is Angiosarcoma of the Liver
Angiosarcoma of the liver is a cancer that is rare. Although it is rare, it is the third most common primary malignant liver tumor. The liver is the body’s largest organ. It provides import functions to the blood and waste systems of the body. A tumor that begins from the endothelial cells that surround the walls of the blood vessels is called angiosarcoma. Endothelial cells, called endothelium, lines all the blood vessels. Typically, the portal vein or central and sublobular veins are involved.
The tumor begins as a growth of rapidly proliferating immature cells, but can quickly become cancerous and spread to many other systems. Since one of the jobs of the liver is to detoxify the blood, it picks up dangerous toxins. These toxins act on the cells at the gene level. While the damage may take many years to produce symptoms, it often has spread these defective cells to other parts of the liver or through the blood system to other parts of the body. In many of the cases, the tumor is multicentric with both lobes of the liver involved.
Symptoms of Angiosarcoma of the liver are often not specific enough and may be difficult to differentiate from symptoms of other diseases. Some of the patients may exhibit these symptoms of liver disease:
- Enlarged liver
- Abdominal pain
- Reduced appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Jaundice
Other symptoms can include signs of bleeding in the peritoneal cavity and an enlarged spleen is present in some cases of Angiosarcoma of the liver.
Toxic exposure to thorium dioxide (Thorotrast), vinyl chloride and arsenic can all cause Angiosarcoma of the liver. Though exposure to these environmental toxins may have occurred thirty years ago, people can still develop these cancerous tumors.
Diagnosing Angiosarcoma of the liver is not easy. The history of exposure to environmental toxins is important for diagnosis. The fact that exposure may have occurred many years ago should not rule out the importance of this information. Problem in diagnosis is the short time symptoms occur and the rapid increase of the disease. An Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) measurement and imaging techniques such as CT, ultrasonography or MRI may be useful in the diagnosis.
The prognosis for people with Angiosarcoma of the liver is not good. By the time the disease shows signs of symptoms, the cancer has already rapidly progressed. Treatment options depend on the extent of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Surgical resection is an option only if the tumor is small and limited to one lobe. The tumor also needs to have a large enough margin around it. The size of the tumor can be decreased by chemotherapy and it will provide better function of the liver. The rate of survival increases by several months. It is essential that Angiosarcoma is diagnosed as early as possible.
