Background: Recent isolated case reports have suggested a potential role for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with angiosarcoma. The goal of this report was to investigate the overall treatment outcomes and the neoadjuvant chemotherapy-specific outcomes in patients with cutaneous angiosarcoma of the face with periorbital involvement.
Methods: Our tumor database was searched for patients with angiosarcoma and periorbital involvement seen at our institution between 1981 and 2005.
Results: Twenty-one patients were identified,15 of whom had neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 6 of whom had a traditional approach of surgery followed by adjuvant therapy. Fourteen of 15 patients who had neoadjuvant chemotherapy had complete clinical response. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy made definitive surgery unnecessary for 9 patients. The median disease-free interval for the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group was 11.8 months (mean, 38.1 months; range, 2.4-239.6 months). Nine of the 15 patients had recurrences. The time from end of treatment to recurrence ranged from 2.6 to 24.5 months (median, 12.7 months). Five of the 6 patients who had primary surgical resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy had a complete clinical response, and the median disease-free interval was 31.8 months (mean, 35.9 months; range, 2.7-85 months). Two later developed recurrences, one at 2.7 months and the other at 31.8 months after the end of treatment.
Conclusion: On the basis of this series, the authors conclude that neoadjuvant chemotherapy for periorbital angiosarcoma is a potentially attractive option and in some patients may obviate the need for major surgery, thereby preserving the eye and/or ocular adnexal structures. Given the propensity for recurrence and poor survival, the authors strongly recommend that these patients receive multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment at a major cancer center.