Angiosarcoma

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of angiosarcoma comprises many procedures, including the following:

• Physical exam to thoroughly examine your body to collect information of your medical conditions.
• Biopsy or the process of collecting a sample of tissue from a suspicious site to test it in a laboratory. The purpose of this laboratory testing is to look for cancer cells or know more of the cells’ details.
• Imaging tests such as Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) to know how progressive the cancer has become.

The doctor will look at your medical conditions to choose the best treatment option for you.

Treatment

The doctor will choose the best treatment for you based on medical concerns, the area affected by the cancer, how big the cancer is, as well as how aggressive the disease has become.

Treatment options include:

• Surgery, which strives to remove the entire cancerous area as well as some surrounding healthy tissues. Surgery, however, is not recommended to those whose cancer has become already large or aggressive.
• Radiation therapy, which in certain cases is used after surgery to kill remaining cancer cells using high-energy beams, such as X-rays and protons. For those with limitations on surgery, radiation therapy might be recommended.
• Chemotherapy, which is used to kill cancer cells with drugs or chemicals. It is an option to treat the cancers that are spreading to other parts of the body. Using chemotherapy in combination with radiation therapy might also be recommended for patients who can’t undergo surgery.
• Targeted drug therapy, which is recommended for those with advanced angiosarcoma. This medial approach kills cancer cells by using drugs to attack and block specific chemicals of the cells.
• Immunotherapy, where the doctor will use your own immune system to kill cancer cells. This medical procedure works by interfering with the functioning of the proteins of cancer cells that help them hide from the immune system’s cells. The treatment is an option for advanced angiosarcoma.