Liver angiosarcoma

Liver angiosarcoma
Other names	Hepatic angiosarcoma, angiosarcoma of the liver
Specimen of a surgically removed and dissected liver angiosarcoma with visible necrosis and bleeding
Specialty	Oncology
Symptoms	Asymptomatic, abdominal pain, weight loss, anorexia, fatigue
Complications	Disseminated intravascular coagulation, tumor rupture
Usual onset	Age 60-70
Causes	Unknown, exposure to arsenic, thorotrast, vinyl chloride
Diagnostic method	Biopsy, imaging
Differential diagnosis	Hemangioma, hepatocellular carcinoma[1]
Treatment	Surgery, chemotherapy
Prognosis	Poor, most die within 6 months[2][3]
Frequency	200 new diagnoses per year worldwide

Liver angiosarcoma also known as angiosarcoma of the liver or hepatic angiosarcoma is a rare and rapidly fatal cancer arising from endothelial that line the blood vessels of the liver. It is a type of angiosarcoma. Although very rare with around 200 cases diagnosed each year, it is still considered the third most common primary liver cancer, making up around 2% of all primary liver cancers. Liver angiosarcoma can be primary (referred to in literature as PHA or primary hepatic angiosarcoma), meaning it arose in the liver, or secondary, meaning the angiosarcoma arose elsewhere and metastasized to the liver.^[2] This article covers PHA, however much is also applicable to secondary tumors.