Abstract
Both angiosarcomas and hemangioendotheliomas are derived from vascular endothelial cells. They show similar histological features with massive proliferation of atypical endothelial cells. However, angiosarcomas are defined to show a clinical behavior of malignancy ; hemangioendotheliomas, an intermediate behavior between benignity and malignancy. Three cases of these tumors on the gingiva were reported.
Case 1: A 40-year-old woman visited our clinic with a complaint of swelling of the left upper molar gingiva. Most of the tumor had already been excised by another dentist and found to be a hemangioendothelioma. The residual tumor was excised by us, and the patient is presently alive without recurrence. The definitive diagnosis was also a hemangioendothelioma.
Case 2 : A 39-year-old man visited us with a complaint of long-standing ulcer and pain at the median part of the lower gingiva. A biopsy indicated a hemangioendothelioma. A block resection of the mandible with the involved teeth was performed, but the tumor metastasized to the brain and the lung. He died three years and two months after his first visit. The final diagnosis was an angiosarcoma.
Case 3 : A 7-year-old girl was admitted with a chief complaint of gingival swelling at the left lower molar region. A biopsy was diagnosed as a pyogenic granuloma, but the excisional material showed malignancy. A marginal resection of the mandible was performed, but the tumor metastasized to the brain and the lung without recurrence on the gingiva. She died one year and four months after her first visit. The tumor was definitively diagnosed as an angiosarcoma.
