Fine-needle aspiration accuracy in the diagnosis of primary epithelioid angiosarcoma of the adrenal gland: a case report and review of the literature

Tullio Torelli, Stefano Radaelli, Maurizio Colecchia, Biagio Paolini, Mario Achille Catanzaro, Nicola Nicolai, Davide Biasoni, Luigi Piva, Silvia Stagni, Roberto Salvioni

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7175/cmi.v11i1.1256

Abstract

Primary epithelioid angiosarcoma of the adrenal gland is extremely rare. Only 37 cases have been reported in the scientific literature.

Here we describe the case of a 55-year-old woman affected by metastatic angiosarcoma in the right adrenal gland, who died few days after the histological diagnosis made by fine-needle aspiration (FNA). This is the second case of primary epithelioid angiosarcoma diagnosed by FNA among scientific articles published in English in PubMed. Microscopically, the tumor showed a predominant epithelioid differentiation, thus making the diagnostic process more difficult than usual. Immunohistochemical examination revealed positive reactivity for cytokeratin, CD31, and CD34. The literature shows that epithelioid adrenal angiosarcoma has poor clinical outcome, especially when metastatic at presentation.

Keywords

Adrenal glands; Hemangiosarcoma; Biopsy, Fine-Needle; Primary Epithelioid Angiosarcoma; Fine-Needle Aspiration

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