Hepatic angiosarcoma mimicking hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma: report of a case

A 78-year-old male was admitted to our hospital for treatment of multiple hepatic tumors, which were suspected as hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) by percutaneous tumor needle biopsy. With a diagnosis of HEHE, the patient underwent hepatic resection. In pathological findings, the tumor was composed of numerous endothelial cells without epithelioid cells, and was diagnosed as hepatic angiosarcoma (HAS). The patient received percutaneous radiofrequency ablation for recurrent HAS at 5 and 25 months postoperatively, and remains well with recurrence as of 28 months after the primary hepatic resection. In spite of improvement in radiological imaging, preoperative differential diagnosis between HAS and other malignant vascular tumors of the liver is still difficult. We herein report a case of HAS mimicking HEHE, treated successfully.