Angiosarcoma: What is Angiosarcoma of the Liver?
Sponsored Links
As a rare type of cancer, angiosarcoma of the liver is the most frequent mesenchymal malignancy in the liver. It is an aggressive tumor which has cancerous cells that proliferates rapidly.
The liver is mainly in-charge with detoxifying the blood; thus, a growth from the walls of the blood vessels will help the defective cells spread to other parts of the liver and many systems of the body. Most cases of angiosarcoma have multi-centric tumor in both lobes of the liver.
Following are some of the symptoms that may be displayed with angiosarcoma of the liver:
*Yellow coloring of the skin and whites of the eyes
*Loss of appetite or reduced appetite
*Decrease in body weight
*Loss of energy
*Pain felt anywhere between your chest and groin (abdominal area)
*Upset stomach with vomiting
*Swelling of the liver beyond its normal size.
Other symptoms may also include signs of an enlarged spleen and bleeding in the peritoneal cavity. There is also a presence of fluids inside the abdominal cavity.
Because the tumor has a multi-focal nature and the tendency to metastasize, treatment by liver transplantation and/or resective liver surgery are typically impossible.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy have shown to assist in decreasing, by a remarkable degree, the size of the tumor, improving liver function and increasing, by several months, survival time. But, because this form of cancer is very rare, the actual long term value of these treatments is difficult to assess.
The development of angiosarcoma of the liver is often associated with past exposure to such toxins as arsenic, thorium dioxide and vinyl chloride.
Early detection of the tumor is very important for successful treatment since the tumor may take several years to develop.
Use of imaging techniques such as CT, MRI and ultrasonograpy as well as AFP (Alpha-Fetoprotein) measurement are helpful in the diagnostic process for this cancer.
