Abstract
A 64-year-old female was admitted to our hospital with complaints of cough, dyspnea and bloody sputum. A chest x-ray film revealed atelectasis in the left lung, and tomography, CT and MRI showed a nodular mass, measuring 58 × 33 mm in diameter, at the left pulmonary hilum. Biopsy specimens taken from a mass protruding and obstructing the lumen of left main bronchus demonstrated angiosarcoma. Left pneumonectomy, including the tumor, with regional lymph node dissection was performed. However, local recurrence at the stump of left pulmonary artery and blood-borne metastases to both adrenals and the brain occurred postoper-atively. Irradiation and IL-2 administration were performed to control these recurrent lesions, but the patient died of the disease 284 days after operation. Angiosarcoma of the lung, although very rare, grows very rapidly and gives rise to blood-borne metastasis at an early stage. In addition to curative resection of the tumor, careful follow-up of the patient and effective adjuvant therapy are mandatory.
