A Case of Pneumothorax Caused by Cystic Lung Metastasis of Angiosarcoma

Abstract

Angiosarcoma is a rare but highly malignant tumorthat usually arises in the scalp or face of elderly males. Distant

metastases favor the lung, liver, lymph nodes and skin. Metastatic pulmonary angiosarcoma commonly takes the form of a nodule but can sometimes appear as a thin-walled cyst. We report a case of 65 years-old male with a spontaneous pneumothorax, who underwent excision and radiotherapy for an angiosarcoma of the scalp 2 years ago. A chest CT scan revealed multiple cysts in the lung. The video-assisted thoracoscopic lung biopsy demonstrated subpleural cysts without tumor cells. A skin biopsy of the scalp showed an angiosarcoma. This case was diagnosed as a recurrence of an angiosarcoma with a supposed lung metastasis. This case suggests that a spontaneous pneumothorax in elderly people may be secondary to a pulmonary metastasis from an angiosarcoma of the scalp.

혈관육종은 매우 드문 악성종양으로 고령 남자의 두피나 얼굴에 주로 발생하며, 폐로 전이되는 경우가 있다. 폐전이의 경우 객혈, 기흉 등의 호흡기계 증상을 일으킬 수 있다. 저자들은 혈관육종의 폐전이가 낭성변화를 일으켜 기흉 및 혈흉을 초래한 1예를 경험하였기에 문헌고찰과 함께 보고하는 바이다.