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CASE REPORT article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Hematologic Malignancies
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1462956

Paraganglioma Masquerading as Angiosarcoma: Diagnostic Dilemma in Vascular Tumors

Provisionally accepted
Lenny Suryani Safri Lenny Suryani Safri 1*Ahilan Raj Rajoo Ahilan Raj Rajoo 2Saravanan Kannairan Saravanan Kannairan 1Hisham Arshad Habeebullah Khan Hisham Arshad Habeebullah Khan 1,2Mohamad Azim Md Idris Mohamad Azim Md Idris 1Geok Chin Tan Geok Chin Tan 3Kishen Raj Chandra Sakaran Kishen Raj Chandra Sakaran 1
  • 1 Department of Surgery, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center (UKMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 KPJ Healthcare University College, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia, Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Paragangliomas originating from blood vessels are exceptionally rare, presenting diagnostic challenges due to their histological resemblance to other vascular neoplasms. We present a case study of a 60year-old female with underlying hypertension and dyslipidemia with obesity, initially diagnosed with angiosarcoma based on imaging and histological characteristics viewed via CT-guided biopsy. Intraoperative exploration revealed a lobulated tumor located between the inferior vena cava (IVC) and aorta measuring 7x8cm, during which the patient developed transient hemodynamic instabilities. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical staining using neuroendocrine markers (chromogranin, synaptophysin, S-100 protein and CD-56) later confirmed the tumor as a retroperitoneal paraganglioma. Retroperitoneal paraganglioma was initially misdiagnosed as angiosarcoma due to the overlapping imaging characteristics between the two tumors. This highlights the importance of raising suspicion on the possibility of retroperitoneal paraganglioma when imaging examination indicates angiosarcoma; as well as to incorporate histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis to avoid misdiagnosis.

    Keywords: Paraganglioma, Angiosarcoma, Retroperitoneal tumor, CT-guided biopsy, histopathology

    Received: 11 Jul 2024; Accepted: 22 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Safri, Rajoo, Kannairan, Habeebullah Khan, Md Idris, Tan and Chandra Sakaran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lenny Suryani Safri, Department of Surgery, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center (UKMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.