Why the study?
Cardiac angiosarcoma is a rare, aggressive malignancy that is histologically challenging to diagnose, and the feasibility of anthracycline-based chemotherapy despite cardiotoxicity remains clinically notable.
This case demonstrates the diagnostic utility of punch biopsy for cutaneous metastases in identifying primary cardiac angiosarcoma and the feasibility of anthracycline-based chemotherapy despite potential cardiotoxicity.
Supports skin biopsy for elusive cardiac angiosarcoma diagnosis; leaves open optimal therapy in this rare entity.
Angiosarcoma is a rare, aggressive malignancy originating from endothelial cells and associated with a poor prognosis. Diagnosis is histologically challenging. We present a rare case of cardiac angiosarcoma involving multiple presentations and investigations, which were inconclusive until a diagnosis was finally reached on a biopsy of a cutaneous lesion. Clinical and radiologic response to systemic anthracycline-based chemotherapy is discussed. This is the first reported case of right atrial primary cardiac angiosarcoma presenting with cardiac symptoms rather than systemic symptoms. The case illustrates the challenges associated with the diagnosis of this rare malignancy. It also highlights the feasibility of using anthracycline-based chemotherapy despite the potential cardiotoxicity of these agents.
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Joyce et al. (2025) studied this question.
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