Angiosarcoma is a rare but extremely insidious type of cancer. The tumors grow and spread rapidly but not easily detected. When symptoms appear, the disease is typically well in the advanced stage. When diagnosis is delayed, treatment for angiosarcoma is usually late and ineffective.
Options for treatment include:
*Chemotherapy
*Radiation Therapy
*Surgical resection
Beginning on the cells that make up the linings of the blood vessels, these rare tumors are all malignant and invasive. Angiosarcoma tumors may occur in any organ of the body and are characterized by rapid proliferation and wide infiltration. When found on the skin and soft tissue, specifically the head and neck, they are call Cutaneous Angiosarcoma.
With primary angiosarcomas, surgical resection is usually used. The main purpose is to be able to define tumor-free margins more accurately. Tumors are easier to detect at microscopic level than at the cellular level. Radiotherapy is also performed as part of the treatment regimen. There are case studies that show positive outcome (i.e. higher survival rate) when radiation followed the resection procedure. However, radiotherapy is not recommended as primary treatment.
Chemotherapy (or chemo-radiation) is generally used as treatment for angiosarcoma patients who cannot undergo surgical procedures. Directly on the site of the tumor growth, chemotherapy drugs are injected as method of treatment. A combination of the three methods is often recommended but the best sequence is yet to discover; so each treatment is performed individually. Before surgery, careful planning for both diagnostic and surgical is crucial.
Any of these treatment options are not effective when tumor is diagnosed on its later or advanced stage. Even with the aggressive treatment approaches, the prognosis is often poor.
As results of continuous and sophisticated medical researches, new drugs are discovered. The angiogenesis inhibitors, called Paclitaxel and Sorafenib, show promising outcome on the effective prevention of new blood vessel formation on tumor to stop the latters rapid growth. These inhibitors also help chemotherapy and radiotherapy when given as combined treatments. Paclitaxel has already exhibited positive benefits for cutaneous angiosarcoma on the face and scalp.
Options for treatment include:
*Chemotherapy
*Radiation Therapy
*Surgical resection
Beginning on the cells that make up the linings of the blood vessels, these rare tumors are all malignant and invasive. Angiosarcoma tumors may occur in any organ of the body and are characterized by rapid proliferation and wide infiltration. When found on the skin and soft tissue, specifically the head and neck, they are call Cutaneous Angiosarcoma.
With primary angiosarcomas, surgical resection is usually used. The main purpose is to be able to define tumor-free margins more accurately. Tumors are easier to detect at microscopic level than at the cellular level. Radiotherapy is also performed as part of the treatment regimen. There are case studies that show positive outcome (i.e. higher survival rate) when radiation followed the resection procedure. However, radiotherapy is not recommended as primary treatment.
Chemotherapy (or chemo-radiation) is generally used as treatment for angiosarcoma patients who cannot undergo surgical procedures. Directly on the site of the tumor growth, chemotherapy drugs are injected as method of treatment. A combination of the three methods is often recommended but the best sequence is yet to discover; so each treatment is performed individually. Before surgery, careful planning for both diagnostic and surgical is crucial.
Any of these treatment options are not effective when tumor is diagnosed on its later or advanced stage. Even with the aggressive treatment approaches, the prognosis is often poor.
As results of continuous and sophisticated medical researches, new drugs are discovered. The angiogenesis inhibitors, called Paclitaxel and Sorafenib, show promising outcome on the effective prevention of new blood vessel formation on tumor to stop the latters rapid growth. These inhibitors also help chemotherapy and radiotherapy when given as combined treatments. Paclitaxel has already exhibited positive benefits for cutaneous angiosarcoma on the face and scalp.
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