HEMANGIOSARCOMA OF THE BREAST—CASE REPORT WITH SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY—

Abstract

Hemangiosarcoma of the breast in a 22 yr old female was presented. She died of massive pulmonary metastasis and apparent internal hemorrhage from the involved liver by metastasis after 40 mo. of the illness. Intense scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study was undertaken on this lesion. SEM findings of angiosarcoma were compared with several other benign disorders, namely chronically-inflamed veins in the gastric submucosa, benign cavernous hemangiomas of the skin and liver and organizing thrombi with papillary structures. Some of these lesions exhibited focal similarities in surface structures to those from angiosarcoma. Cell clusters protruding into the vascular cavity were the most unique feature of angiosarcoma, never observed in other lesions.