Primary angiosarcoma of the urinary bladder.

Abstract

Angiosarcoma of the urinary bladder is an extremely rare neoplasm with only 5 cases having been reported in literature so far. The etiologic factors implicated in visceral angiosarcoma are exposure to thorium dioxide, arsenic, polyvinyl chloride, irradiation, chemotherapy and the presence of retained foreign body material. The histologic picture is characterised by irregular vascular channels showing anastomoses and lined by atypical endothelial cells. The prognosis of this neoplasm is uniformly poor. Herein we report a case of primary angiosarcoma of the bladder in a man who had no prior exposure to any of the etiologic factors and is disease free 8 months after treatment with partial cystectomy and adjuvant postoperative pelvic irradiation.