Sudden death due to rupture of an omental metastatic tumor arising from cardiac angiosarcoma. A case report

J Cardiovasc Surg (Torino). 2001 Aug;42(4):495-7.

Abstract

A 32-year-old man underwent surgical excision of a malignant hemangioendothelioma of the heart and received multidisciplinary treatment. Thirty-three months later, he underwent a second surgical treatment for a recurrent tumor of the posterior chest wall of the right thorax. Five months after this surgery (thirty-eight months after the initial surgery), a second recurrent tumor in the right thorax developed. Although radiotherapy and recombinant interleukin-2 were administered, anemia of unknown origin (hemoglobin 6.7 g/dl) developed. The patient died of sudden shock due to a rupture of an omental metastatic tumor. The patient survived for 41 months after the first surgical resection. We present this case because it is the first reported case of sudden death due to bleeding from an omental metastatic tumor, and because our patient was the second-longest survivor after surgical treatment for cardiac angiosarcoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Death, Sudden / etiology*
  • Heart Neoplasms / surgery
  • Hemangioendothelioma / complications*
  • Hemangioendothelioma / secondary*
  • Hemangioendothelioma / surgery
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / surgery
  • Omentum*
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms / complications*
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Reoperation
  • Rupture, Spontaneous / complications